


Gods Among Us

by arturus



Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Crossover, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-09-13
Updated: 2016-08-18
Packaged: 2017-11-14 04:33:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 149,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/511363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arturus/pseuds/arturus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fate is a funny thing sometimes. Harry Potter and his friends survived their trial by fire and defeated Voldemort. A year has past and Hermione Granger is apprenticed as a Curse Breaker. When she discovers an ancient tomb she talks Harry in to helping with the excavation. Now they are trapped and they’ll need a miracle to survive.</p><p>HP/HG AU POST DH and Episode 1 BSG Rated M for Adult Themes, Violence & Language<br/>Authors Acknowledgement: Thank you to my Technical Guru XRaiderV1and my Beta Rhynimy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Gods among us - A Harry Potter and Battlestar Galactica crossover  
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.  
Synopsis: 

Fate is a funny thing sometimes. Harry Potter and his friends survived their trial by fire and defeated Voldemort. A year has past and Hermione Granger is apprenticed as a Curse Breaker. When she discovers an ancient tomb she talks Harry in to helping with the excavation. Now they are trapped and they’ll need a miracle to survive.

Authors Acknowledgement: Thank you to my Technical Guru XRaiderV1and my Beta Rhynimy.

Chapter 1

 

Harry Potter stumbled as his foot caught in something hidden in the undergrowth. With a curse he stopped and massaged his ankle. Thank Merlin for the heavy boots his partner had bought them both.

 

“All right there Harry?”

 

Harry stood and waved to where Hermione Granger stood further up the gently sloping wooded hill. “Fine Mione just caught my foot. Any luck with the tomb?”

 

Hermione made a gesture toward Harry’s left. “Over toward the base of the hill I’ve uncovered what looks like a stone wall and a door.”

 

Harry tried to hide his wince. Why couldn't Hermione have found the damn door before he scrambled up the bloody hill? A quick wave and she disappeared back in to the foliage. With another curse he began slipping and sliding back down the slick rocks and undergrowth.

 

Still being here was an absolute joy compared to post-Voldemort wizarding Britain. Any dream he had of living a normal life was well and truly shattered in the aftermath. Within days he was being sought out by every wizarding media outlet in Europe. Hell he had bloody reporters stalking him in restrooms. He had pulled out of Auror training after a score of incidents with deranged fans or reporters forced the senior instructors to pull him off the normal trainee rotation. Hermione pulling him out of the chaos to help her with an archaeological expedition had been a blessing. 

 

Frankly he had been surprised Hermione had been offered the job considering their shared history with the Goblins who were financing the dig. Well maybe not that surprising. The Goblins had a nose for talent and having Hermione on staff as a curse breaker was a good investment.

 

“Harry over here look at this!”

 

Hermione was waving to him from a freshly dug mound of soil. He waved back and made his way over to where Hermione was standing alongside two other Gringotts curse breakers.

 

Hermione looked like she was about to begin bouncing up and down. “We think this is the door. Oh Harry if I’m right opening this…well we’ll be able to see and study the anti-magic ward.”

 

Harry had to smile at his friend. Hermione lived for this stuff. “So should we wait for Bill?”

 

Hermione looked a bit crestfallen. “I suppose….um well maybe if we get the door open we can have a peak.”

 

Andrew Haddock the senior Curse Breaker had to smile. “Oh I don’t think Billy would mind you two having the first peek. Considering it was your idea that the magic dead zone was a ward. If Mister Potter would lend us a hand Tim and I will get this door stone moved.”

 

The three wizards managed to lever the stone away from the door with pry bars letting out a burst of stale smelling air. Andrew pulled out two muggle torches and handed them to Harry and Hermione. 

 

“You two go have a look while Tim and I do the paperwork eh?” The older wizard smiled and waved at the door. “Just give us a holler if you need anything.”

 

Hermione threw her arms around Andrew and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you Andrew.”

 

Harry grinned at the display. It was amazing both how much and how little his friend had changed. Well now his previous friend was no longer in the picture. The ‘Break Up’ was how Ginny referred to it. It deserved the capitals. Ron had tried to tell Hermione that she shouldn’t be working. Her place apparently was at home with the children. The row had escalated and by the end of it any hope of a future reconciliation between Hermione and Ron was ashes. Still it hadn’t stopped Ron trying and in the end Harry had to step in. One bruised hand and a broken nose later and the break up of the golden trio was complete. Ron hadn’t spoken to either of them since. 

 

He was pulled back to reality as Hermione nudged his shoulder. “Oh this is so exciting Harry. We are the first to see the inside of this tomb in Merlin knows how long. It’s like Tutankhamen’s tomb, although technically it is a burial mound or barrow mound.” 

 

Descending down what appeared to be fairly even steps they came to a stone wall carved with what looked to be some sort of pictograms. 

 

Hermione studied the wall carefully. “Hmm well they are not runes that I recognise although they could be an early form of Ogham like the Old Brythonic inscriptions in Pembrokeshire. This is fascinating and a marvelous find in and of itself. We’ll need to get an ancient languages expert down here.”

 

Harry nodded absently and ran his torch around the chamber. Seeing a red reflection he walked a bit closer to the wall. Embedded in the stone was what looked to be a ruby the size of his fist, “Bloody hell Mione, is this a damn ruby?”

 

Hermione didn’t even look up, “Maybe……I think a rubbing would be a good…”

 

Harry tuned her out and began studying the other walls. There were shapes carved around the apparent ruby. With his left hand he pulled his water bottle from his belt and ran water over the carvings. Dropping the bottle he used his hand to clear away the dirt and dust. After a few moments he could see that the carvings were crude snakes. Each carved so as to appear to be ‘holding’ the gem in their mouths.

 

“Hermione look at this.”

 

Hermione didn’t even turn her head. “I’m a bit busy. This could be the clue to getting in to the burial chamber itself.”

 

Harry knew she wasn’t paying him any attention but dutifully reported his findings. “There are two snakes on either side of the ruby.”

 

“Hmmm….”

 

Harry sighed and looked back at the carved snakes, “Typical eh lads?”  
The words came out as a hissing noise. Harry smiled wryly, strange how he slipped in to Parseltounge every time snakes were involved.

 

He almost exclaimed as the two snake carvings open their mouths and the ruby sank in to the wall. Then there was a grinding noise. Then a much louder grinding noise sounded.

 

Hermione was instantly by his side a frown on her face. “What did you do Harry?”

 

Harry scratched at his head his expression a tad sheepish. “I…um I may have spoken Parseltounge to the carvings.”

 

Hermione threw her hands up in the air sending torch light careering madly around the room. “Of all the stupid….what happened then?”

 

“The ruby disappeared in to the wall then, well then there was that grinding noise.”

 

Hermione took a deep breath. “Okay well let’s have a look around. Don’t touch or talk to anything else until I work out what happened.”

 

Harry nodded and shined his light against the wall. Moving the circle of light slowly over the wall to the left as Hermione moved her to the right.

 

“Harry weren’t the steps behind us?”

 

Harry flashed his light to the rear of the chamber to see a stone wall.

 

“Bollocks.”

 

“Language Harry,” warned Hermione absently. “I think we should keep carefully looking around. No reason at all to panic. After all if we are gone too long Tim and Andrew will rescue us.”

 

Harry nodded and began checking the walls again.

 

After a couple of minutes Hermione called out a question. “Harry was there another passage to the right?”

 

Harry directed his torch to where Hermione was checking the wall. Sure enough there was a new passage off to the right.

 

Hermione flashed her light in to the opening. There were stairs ascending in to the darkness.” It might be an alternate way out.” 

 

Harry shrugged and smiled. “Wow a mysterious passage! What are we waiting for?”

 

“Very funny Potter just you remember that we are still in the anti-magic ward. Whatever we come up against we’re on our own.”

 

“We could always just sit here until the others get us out.”

 

“Fine but we need to be careful.” Hermione led the way ascending slowly, checking each step carefully before treading on it. Eventually they reached a large room. 

 

Hermione looked intrigued. “This looks a bit odd. I mean why would there be crystals and…dear god is that a seat?”

 

There was what appeared to be a padded seat. In fact there were two of them. Side by side in front of something shrouded by dust.

 

Harry looked over at an apparently stunned Hermione. “Looks like it. Weren’t there chairs in the um past?”

 

Hermione pointed her torch at the back of the chair. “Chairs made of metal and what looks like plastic?”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Hermione Granger was a logical and intelligent witch. Which was why her current situation was so damn frustrating. Inside a burial mound over a thousand years old was….was whatever this chamber was. The walls looked like stone but clearly were not. She had proven that with simple tap. It sounded like metal but some type of metal she hadn’t seen before. What she had originally assumed was an altar was set with gems and crystals. Frowning she played the light over it again. It looked familiar somehow but she couldn’t place it. She was about to examine the crystals more closely when Harry spoke up.

 

Harry pointed his torch at the two chairs. “Hermione is it me or does it look a bit like a control panel with two seats.”

 

Hermione nodded, “A bit. I mean it does almost look like something. That doesn’t mean that it is. It could be an altar or have some other ritual purpose. Right now we don’t know what it is.”

 

Harry watched Hermione pouring over the altar or whatever it was for a few moments before shining his torch at his watch. “We’ve been in here a while I wonder why we haven’t heard from the others?”

 

“Actually that’s a good question. I would have thought that we would have been missed by now.”

 

Harry tried to think of a decent course of action that didn’t require tools they didn’t have or magic that didn’t work in or around the tomb. 

 

“Mione I hope you have something up your sleeve that I haven’t thought of.”

 

Hermione was silent for a few moments. “It has been a while hasn’t it. Okay first things first turn your torch off. We may need light later so it’s a good idea to conserve one battery. So we either wait for a rescue or we try a find another way out.”

 

“Sounds good Mione any ideas?”

 

Hermione pulled her wand and tried to cast a light spell to no avail. After another few spells also failed she turned to look at Harry.

 

“Harry you are one of the strongest wizards I know. Can you try to cast something to see if you get a result?”

 

With a flick Harry drew his wand and cast a light spell. There was an almost invisible flare of light before his wand tip faded. 

 

Hermione looked on with an encouraging expression visible in the torch light. “Almost, try to cast something else.”

 

Harry looked over at the woman who was, without doubt his best friend. Concentrating he summoned up every positive memory he could and cast his patronus. There was a burst of silver light and the faint hint of a shape before it disappeared.

 

“That’s it Harry…..what is that?” Hermione had turned to look at a wall of silver runes and multi-coloured crystal that were flickering on and off.

 

Gradually the wall faded back to normal.

 

Hermione looked pleased. “I think that may be the wards flaring. Keep casting you may be overloading them.”

 

Harry cast another patronus and this time the wall flickered in to life for almost thirty seconds. Harry cast again and this time his Patronus appeared fully making the wall flare brightly before fading. However unlike before several of the crystals were left glowing. .

 

Hermione raised her wand. “Harry the wards must be nearly down. I think if we both cast together it might be enough.”

 

Harry held up three fingers, “On three, one, two…Expecto Patronum.” 

 

Together they both called forth their Patronuses flooding the room with silver light. All around them crystals flared in to bright light. 

 

Then things went to hell.

 

“Arginus Na-Phalat bro-miphat. Monirat cornuit bo umas. Orbis cavat no laren.”

 

“What the hell is that?” asked Harry.

 

Hermione looked puzzled. “I have no idea. It doesn’t sound like Brythonic at all.”

 

Before Harry could comment the chamber shook once and then began to vibrate. 

 

“Shit okay we are now officially leaving. Grab my hand Mione.” Gathering his magic Harry tried to apparate them both out of the tomb. At first he though he had succeeded then he perceived a bright flash of white light.

 

oOoOoOo

 

The sophisticated artificial intelligence at the heart of bro-miphat was unsure what to do. There were two life forms aboard that were clearly not crew. His self diagnostics were telling him that his external data recorders were damaged and power in the main memory core was intermittent. This was not welcome news and hinted at main power being unstable. Considering the facts available it concluded that perhaps the bipedal life forms had the means to restore the power systems. After such a long time without power getting core systems back online was a priority.

 

Using standard galactic basic the AI tried communicating but if the data banks on humanoid expressions were accurate it was highly probable they did not understand.

 

Unsure of the next move the AI was considering a visual presentation in an attempt to establish communication. It was about to begin when one of the life form’s began to emit a biological energy field. A very specific sub-space field that similar in most points to the ships jump drive. It was almost impossible to startle an AI but this did it. 

 

The field was incredibly powerful if unfocussed and it played havoc with the ships systems. When that the jump drive cycling up the AI went in to damage control mode. Working quickly it began entering spatial coordinates. Without co-ordinates a terrestrial jump could be disastrous. Potentially burning out what remained of the control systems. Even worse it could send the power core critical. The explosion from such an event would destroy a small city. It had just finished jump calculations when the jump drive activated.

 

oOoOoOo

 

Harry awoke with to a loud buzzing noise and a thumping headache. Rolling over he found himself looking up at a stone ceiling. It took him a few moments to recollect where he was.

 

“Hermione!” ignoring his headache he clambered to his feet. Looking around wildly he spotted her a few steps away. He staggered over and dropped to his knees. Checking his friend over he was relieved to find no injuries. She appeared to simply be unconscious. Looking around he spotted his wand. Extended his hand he muttered a wandless summoning charm. A quick enervate spell and Hermione was blinking and looking up at him.

 

Hermione’s hand went to her head. “Ohh my head….what happened?”

 

“We tried to apparate out but well looks like we are still here.”

 

Hermione looked around the brightly lit room. “How did you get a light spell to work?”

 

Harry shook his head. “I didn’t it was like this when I woke up.”

 

Hermione sat up with Harry’s help and looked around the room. “Well it looks like something has activated. All the crystals are now glowing.”

 

“And magic is working. I just enervated you.”

 

Hermione climbed to her feet. “Right well I think we should get some experienced curse breakers in here. Let’s see if we can apparate out now.”

 

The same disembodied voice sounded again. “Na-Phalarm mori pah murah.”

 

Harry raised his wand but Hermione raised her hand to stop him.

 

Hermione spoke slowly and softly. “I’m sorry but we cannot understand you. I am going to cast a translation spell to try and understand your language.”

 

“Mar lo mac norlim…..”

 

With a small flourish Hermione cast a translation spell.

 

“Na…… is the bro-miphat. Do you require assistance?”

 

“Who are you, where are you?” asked Hermione.

 

The voice responded instantly. “Nom excellent…you pholat understand me?”

 

Hermione nodded, “Yes although not perfectly or for long the spell only last a few minutes.”

 

The strangely modulated voice sounded almost pleased. “I am the relip-na of the bro-miphat. I control the bro-miphat.”

 

Hermione frowned at as she tried to puzzle out the answer. “Are you a computer?”

 

“Ka-nem unclear…I am the heart of bro-miphat.”

 

“Are you a living being?”

 

“No I am relip-na a romal-kar construct.”

 

“You are an artificial intelligence?”

 

“Nom-fal…yes an artificial intelligence. I am lom-tra phelam mo liphat.”

 

“Damn I though the spell would last longer than that.” Hermione complained. “I can’t use the more permanent translator spell on an inanimate object. The charm needs a living being as the target.” 

 

Harry had been watching on as Hermione and the voice conversed. “Hermione what’s going on?”

 

“I think the voice is a computer or something like it.”

 

Harry shook his head, “What the bloody hell have we discovered. Have you ever heard of anything like this?”

 

Hermione shook her head. “I don’t know. The translation spell I can use isn’t working properly either. Whatever it is we don’t have much choice but to try to talk to it again.”

 

Hermione cast the spell again and Harry spent another few minutes listening to the one sided conversation. He didn’t know how to cast it but he did know from Charms class that most translator spells was complex and often only worked on the castor. 

 

The computer or what ever it was eventually stopped talking and a pale and worried Hermione turned back to Harry. “We have a major problem.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“I….well I think I’d best show you.” Hermione walked over to the ‘altar’ and studied the crystals for a moment before touching several. As she touched the last one a large section of the wall above became transparent.

 

Harry gazed out at the blackness of space highlighted by several stars. “Shit…. tell me that I am looking at a projection of the night sky.”

 

“Harry we are in space. As far as I understand the ship we are somewhere on the outskirts of our solar system. The ship brought us here after we attempted apparating out. Somehow the spell destabilised the engines. If the ships computer hadn’t acted we could have destroyed several counties.”

 

Harry narrowed his eyes. He did not like where this conversation was going. “Okay so danger over it can take us back.”

 

Hermione shook her head. “It’s not that simple. When the ship jumped it did a lot of damage to itself. Serious damage the computer is not sure the ship would hold together for another jump.”

 

“Well we can’t stay here.”

 

Hermione paled further. “That’s the other thing. The ship is running on reserve power now. Soon critical systems will start to shut down. Even if it puts everything in to life support….power wise it says we only have a….a few hours.”

 

Harry pulled Hermione in to a hug. “Don’t worry Mione we’ll figure it out together.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Hermione slumped back in the command chair. “It’s no use nothing seems to want to work.”

 

For hours she had been conversing with the ships computer before it fell ominously silent. All they had managed to achieve was to have the ship send out an English based distress signal. Hermione had translated the computers instructions leading Harry through a multitude of tasks trying to restart systems to no avail. Even the lighting in the cabin had begun to decrease.

 

Harry reached over and gave her shoulder a squeeze. “We have no damn choice. We either try and apparate out or I try and create a Portkey.”

 

Hermione nodded and took Harry’s hand. “If this doesn’t work I just wanted you to know that I love you. You’ve always been my best and truest friend.”

 

Harry tried to smile. “Likewise Mione, now take hold of me and let’s see if we can apparate first.”

 

Concentrating hard he tried to channel as much power as he could before releasing the spell. 

 

There was a brilliant flash of white light and then the both knew no more.

 

oOoOoOo

 

Battlestar Triton (Accord Class - Battlestar)

 

The Triton was a barely functioning wreck. The Accord class of Battlestars had been known in the Colonial fleet for being able to take a great deal of damage and remain mission capable. The battle above Caprica had proven it. It had been vicious and the Triton had taken an absolute battering. The gods only knew how Commander Solis and his command crew had managed it but they somehow got the crippled Battlestar to jump. Their heroism had saved what was left of the crew but had cost all those on the bridge their lives as an explosion tore through it.

 

Since then the Triton had been crawling along at a fraction of FTL as the crew worked desperately to repair critical systems. 

 

On the newly repaired bridge Major Kyle Brack turned to look at his 2IC Lieutenant Emma Boyd. “Frack is it Cylon?”

 

Emma didn’t look up from her console. “DRADIS hasn’t picked up any IFF ours or Cylon. It could be a small merchant vessel.” 

 

“Or it could be a fracking Cylon and we are in no condition for any type of confrontation.” Kyle was the most senior officer alive aboard the still crippled Battlestar. As such he was in command of the Battlestar and the single surviving squadron of Vipers and Raptors. “Emma, get me Captain Golan on wireless.”

 

A few moments later the distinctive gravelly voice of the Raptor squadron leader responded. “Smash here what is it Brack?”

 

Kyle grimaced at the question. His former squadron mate was probably not going to like this. “Smash we’ve got an unknown. It just appeared on DRADIS. It’s not showing as Cylon or Colonial. I want a scout to get me a visual.”

 

Hector ‘Smash’ Golan’s reply was politer than he expected. “Brack you know what you are asking?”

 

“I know but if we do nothing and it is a Cylon and he’s got friends nearby?”

 

“Then let me send a full flight out.” 

 

Kyle couldn’t allow a whole flight to be put at risk. “No we can’t risk it. I’ll allow two.” 

 

“Kyle…..frack it okay flight of two with no back seater. I’ll send Chaser and Whiplash but at the first sign of trouble we get them aboard.”

 

“Agreed and Smash tell them that I ordered them to take no risks. Understand?”

 

Kyle was basically giving his pilots both an unspoken ‘weapons free’. He knew Smash would have gotten the unspoken point.

 

“Understood and I will. Smash out.”

 

“Emma, keep a close eye on DRADIS and start scanning for any Radiation or dangerous emissions. We are dealing with an unknown.”

 

Less than five minutes later a Raptor with a Viper Mark VII escort were approaching the stationary vessel. 

 

oOoOoOo

 

Raptor – Lieutenant Taran Sul – Call sign ‘Chaser’

 

Chaser kept a close eye on the unknown vessel as he did a fast pass with his video running. Whatever it was it certainly wasn’t any Colonial vessel he had ever seen. Switching to short range wireless he opened a channel to his wingman.

 

“You see any drive housings or anything like it Whiplash?”

 

“Negative Chaser, it could be an escape pod.”

 

“I’m not seeing any running lights either. I’m going in for a closer pass. Hold and observe Whiplash.”

 

“Copy Whiplash is holding and observing”

 

Chaser brought his Raptor around for a much slower pass. He passed as close as possible to the unknown making sure that his intelligence gathering equipment was recording everything. As he finished the pass he noticed an anomaly on his DRADIS console. There was a signal, a very weak signal originating from the ship on an odd wavelength. Chaser could see an odd pattern to it. 

 

“Whiplash, check your low band width on the DRADIS. What does it look like to you?”

 

“Hold it I’ve seen something like this in basic training….Hard to tell Chaser but it looks like an odd form of low powered wireless. I’m barely receiving it here.”

 

“Copy, I’ll close again and try opening a wireless channel on that wavelength.”

 

This time he brought the Raptor to a near standstill and opened a low band width wireless channel. 

 

“….require assistance. La nomis Nor ta harmis phila. Navis ratio defecerunt. Cantavit requirit auxilium. Ship systems have failed, Crew requires assistance. La…” 

 

Chaser cut off the channel and immediately opened a channel to the Triton.

 

oOoOoOo

 

Battlestar Triton – Bridge

 

Kyle sat back in his seat and looked around the small group of surviving officers that formed the command staff. “So a Krypter call but an odd one, I don’t know what most of that gibberish was but what we did get well the accent is odd and the pronunciation is off. It almost sounds like an Aerilon accent but not quite.” 

 

Emma nodded absently as she again studied the video feed. “You know it really is an odd design. I suspect it might be an escape pod of some kind. Regardless we have an obligation to attempt a rescue.”

 

Kyle glanced around the group again. “Do we? It could be a Cylon trick.”

 

Emma looked horrified. “Sir…Kyle we can’t just God’s damn cruise past!”

 

Hector Golan nodded in agreement. “It’s a small ship Brack if we get her in to the main landing bay and have marines standing by it shouldn’t be a problem. DRADIS isn’t detecting any radiation.”

 

Kyle considered for a few moments before nodding. “Tow her in. Emma, get Sergeant Major Richards to assemble two squads of marines. Let’s make this happen people but in the name of the gods be careful.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

The strange ship was lowered to the deck and immediately surrounded by heavily armed marines.

 

Chief Petty Officer Gray from engineering led a three man crew as they began a detailed inspection on the exterior. The engineering crew were thorough and after a rather extended inspection he walked over to where Kyle and Hector stood.

 

“Sir it’s made of some metallic alloy I’ve never even seen before. The only entry point I can see is a hatch at the rear. I’ve held off on actually touching the ship yet but….well I can’t see what else we can do.”

 

Kyle accepted the Chief’s report with a nod. “Chief, do what you have to.”

 

The Chief saluted and called for a cutter. Walking to the ‘rear’ of the ship he took a heavy mallet from a junior engineer and struck the ship three times. Nothing happened so he raised the hammer again and then jumped back as the hatch slid open. The Chief froze for a moment before calling for Kyle.

 

“Sir there are injured people here,” reported the Chief as Kyle looked in to the rear of the ship.

Kyle moved closer the rear of the ship but was beaten by a squad of four marines that moved forward weapons at the ready. Kyle was about to protest but the marines were doing exactly what they were supposed to. “Okay Corporal, check it out.”

 

“Sir,” responded the corporal as he and his three squad mates moved slowly in to the rear of the ship.

 

The four marines soon swept the small ship and then checked the two bodies on the floor. “Sir they are both alive but unconscious. The air is pretty stale in here. I’d guess life support is down.”

 

Kyle looked over to the med team and nodded to the ranking medic who quickly led his two man team aboard. Kyle followed and waved the marines back. “Stand down marines.”

 

The leader of the med team looked up when and saw Kyle approaching. “Sir they are pretty badly dehydrated and knocked around from oxygen deprivation. I’ll need to move them to Life Stations.”

 

Kyle gave permission but with a caveat. “Do it but keep them under guard for now.”


	2. Gods Among Us by arturus

Gods among us - A Harry Potter and Battlestar Galactica crossover

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

 

Last time:

“Sir,” responded the corporal as he and his three squad mates moved slowly in to the rear of the ship.

 

The four marines soon swept the small ship and then checked the two bodies on the floor. “Sir they are both alive but unconscious. The air is pretty stale in here. I’d guess life support is down.”

 

Kyle looked over to the med team and nodded to the ranking medic who quickly led his two man team aboard. Kyle followed and waved the marines back. “Stand down marines.”

 

The leader of the med team looked up when and saw Kyle approaching. “Sir they are pretty badly dehydrated and knocked around from oxygen deprivation. I’ll need to move them to Life Stations.”

 

Kyle gave permission but with a caveat. “Do it but keep them under guard for now.”

 

Chapter 2

 

Kyle Brack watched intrigued as two deck engineers with over twenty combined years of experience tried to decipher just how the strange ship actually operated. Eventually Chief Marcus Gray shared a look with Petty Officer Sarah Nova before turning to Kyle.

 

“Sir this is so far beyond my, beyond our understanding that we can’t even confirm that this ship even has engines.”

 

Sarah passed what looked like a shaped piece of glass to Kyle. “Behind what we think are control panels we found hundreds of these crystals. If I had to guess I’d say that they are part of the ships operating system. Neither of us has seen anything like it.”

 

Kyle examined the crystal but couldn’t see anything to help him understand. Handing the crystal back he looked over the strange consoles. There was something he needed to ask much as he feared the answer. “Could it be Cylon?”

Marcus shook his head, “No not unless they have changed the basis of their technology completely.”

 

Sarah opened another panel. “The other problem is that as far as we can determine this ship is dead. There is no power at all in any system that we can find. The Gods know that I could be wrong but something tells me I’m not.”

 

Kyle nodded as he considered his next move, “Any suggestions?”

 

“What have the two pilots told us?” Marcus asked.

 

Kyle shook his head, “Nothing they’re still in Life Stations. Hopefully when they wake up we’ll get an answer to our mystery. Till then we’ll need you two back at your posts.” 

 

“Frak …..sorry sir,” Sarah looked more embarrassed than apologetic. “It’s just that it’s not too often that fleet deck engineers get the chance to figure stuff like this out.”

 

Kyle smiled at the engineer’s enthusiasm. “I know you two are pretty stretched right now with repairs. I’ll make a deal with you. You can continue to try puzzling this out but only when you and your crews are off duty, deal?”

 

“Sounds good Sir,” agreed Marcus as Sarah nodded.

 

It was a relief to see members of the crew enthusiastic about something. Hopefully a few more of the engineers would get on the project as well. “I’m due on duty. Keep me in the loop.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Kyle had just arrived in the CIC when Lieutenant Aren Callet the acting Tactical officer called out a warning from his station. “DRADIS contact. IFF detected….it’s Colonial, a merchant vessel.”

 

“Sound battle stations,” ordered Emma. “It could be a trick sir,” warned Emma.

 

Kyle nodded, “Acknowledged, Open a channel.” Seeing the crewman at comms nod he picked up the headset and depressed the talk button.

 

“This is the colonial Battlestar Triton hailing the vessel approaching our position. Please confirm your designation and intentions. You are to immediately hold your position. Comply or we will open fire.” Kyle keyed the mike off and looked around the CIC. “Let’s see what she does. Bring all batteries online and get a Viper flight ready to launch.”

 

“Sir the Merchant vessel is complying. We have a response.”

 

“Put it on speakers,” ordered Kyle.

 

“Triton…..This is Captain Sevran Tor of the Caprican merchant vessel Athena’s Bow. Thank the Gods Triton. We thought we were all alone out here!” There was a lot of emotion in the merchant captain’s voice.

 

Kyle keyed the mike live, “Athena’s Bow this is Triton Actual you are among friends citizen. Hold your position and I’ll have two Vipers escort you in.” 

 

oOoOoOo

 

Captain Sevran Tor was a middle aged merchant fleet veteran. Well over 6’2 tall with short thinning hair. His rugged face showed his emotions as Kyle shook his hand, an odd mix of relief and fear. “Thank the gods we found you Commander.”

 

“It’s Major Captain and you are welcome. Believe me it was a relief for us to find you out here. You are the first vessel we’ve seen since we escaped the Cylon attack.” Kyle was surprised by Captain Tor’s reaction. The man actually shuddered. “Are you alright Captain?”

 

“You are not with the others?” 

 

Kyle hesitated unsure as to what was going on, “No we are still conducting repairs to our FTL drive after the initial attack. Have you seen other fleet ships?” He found himself holding his breath awaiting the answer.

 

There was another flinch. “We….encountered a small fleet of Colonial ships, no Battlestars they did have two heavy gunships and some commandeered freighters.”

 

“What happened Captain?” Kyle had to ask even though he was beginning to suspect that he wouldn’t like the answer.

 

Captain Tor looked away for a moment before turning back to Kyle. “The day after we jumped away from the Cylon attack on Libran we came across another ship the Demieter. She was a short hall freighter carry refined Tylium ore. She had virtually no supplies aboard and we did. So her captain and I decided that we had best run together until we could meet up with the fleet. Hades we didn’t know what the frak was happening. Apparently there were other survivors. A fleet of them with the Galactica but we missed the rendezvous. We were so fraking relieved to see Colonial military ships. We thought we’d been found by the fleet.” 

 

“What did they do?”

 

“They commandeered the Demieter. When Jackson, their captain objected the bastards shot him. Then they executed the rest of the crew save for two female crew. I don’t want to think about what happened to them.”

 

“You’ve got to be fracking…” Kyle trailed off. This was serious and as acting commander he didn’t have the luxury of anger. “Captain, given our current condition we have little ability left to chase down renegades. That said I still want a full statement from you and from your crew. They may have escaped for now but if they manage to elude the Cylons and we catch them later I want a full case against them.”

 

Captain Tor nodded, “I understand Major.”

 

“Is your ship in good working order?”

 

“To be frank Major no it is not. We were due for some heavy duty maintenance on Libran. I don’t know how long the old girl will hold together. My boys and girls have been working overtime to keep her running.”

 

Kyle considered the situation. The captain of the Athena’s Bow was an experienced merchant officer. If his crew were also experienced, “Captain given our own losses I would welcome your crew aboard the Triton.”

The Merchant captain frowned, “I don’t know that I much like being pressed in to service.”

 

“Oh Gods no you misunderstand me Captain. I meant as volunteer civilian crewmen. I won’t deny that we need help but I refuse to press anyone to service. Forced conscription is illegal and I’ll not break the law even in these circumstances. You are just as welcome as passengers.”

 

Captain Tor visibly relaxed. “Thank you Major I’ll let my crew know.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Two hours later the crew of the Athena’s Bow were being escorted to their berths. Most were looking around the Battlestar with varying levels of interest at the scale of repairs underway. Most merchant spacers had some basic engineering training and took note of the sheer scope of the repairs.

 

One greying veteran whistled softly as he passed a pair of engineers stringing wiring along the deck alongside a bare metal bulkhead, “Looks like she took a right battering.”

 

The man alongside nodded, “Hope she’s still up to it if the Cylons come looking for her.”

 

The older man nodded, “So do I Kaine. Let’s get our gear stowed and we’ll find an engineer and see what we can do to help.”

 

oOoOoOo

Life Stations – Battlestar Triton

 

Hermione Granger awoke to a blinding headache. Opening her eyes she squinted at the bright light. Almost immediately a face entered her vision. A surgical mask hid most of the persons face. The person was saying something but Hermione couldn’t quite place the language. Obviously she was in a hospital or something similar. Most probably a non-magical hospital given that they were using surgical masks and had electric lighting. The person was joined by another who also seemed to be asking her questions based on the tone.

 

Still feeling a bit fuzzy headed she shut her eyes for a moment trying to clean her head. How had she gotten here? They were trapped on the ship and they had tried to……HARRY. She tried to sit up but something was restraining her arms and legs. Turning her head she caught sight of a mop of familiar black hair, “HARRY!”

 

Struggling against her restraints she tried to get a better view of Harry as the people around made soothing noises as they gently tried to restrain her. 

 

“My friend, is my friend okay?”

 

It was very clear that the people caring for her didn’t understand her. There were more words spoken in the same strange language accompanied by worried looks and the same soothing gestures. After a few moments she calmed herself and began to consider her situation. Yelling and thrashing around to get free would probably get her sedated. She could move her head so she used it to nod toward Harry. After a moment or two one of the people seemed to realise that she was worried about Harry. One of the people gestured toward Harry and nodded several times apparently indicating that Harry was okay. 

 

Finally the medical staff withdrew leaving her alone although it didn’t last long. Hermione was trying to think her way through the situation when a young woman appeared spoke briefly to the medical staff and then came and sat by her bedside. The woman was dressed in what appeared to be a uniform of some sort so maybe she was a policewoman or perhaps a military officer. The woman smiled in a friendly fashion which faded when she saw the wrist restraints. Turning she called one of the medical staff over and after a brief discussion the restraints were removed. Hermione was tempted to jump up and check on Harry immediately but instead focused her attention on her visitor.

 

The woman began speaking apparently asking questions in the same language used by the others. Hermione was about to shake her head when she thought she recognised a phrase. The woman had asked her name in heavily accented Latin.

 

oOoOoOo

 

Life Stations was fairly quiet when Ensign Sarah Paul arrived. Spotting the serious face of Doctor Jackson talking with two nurses she walked over and reported her arrival. “Doctor you requested a communications specialist?”

 

Jackson initialled a form and handed it back to one of his staff. “Yes I did thank you for coming so quickly. One of our two mystery patients is awake.”

 

Sarah glanced over at the bed and caught a glimpse of the woman on the bed. She seemed to be looking at the other unmoving figure in unmistakable concern. “What has she said so far?”

 

Doctor Jackson shook his head a look of frustration on his face. “Nothing that we can understand and it’s pretty clear that she doesn’t understand Caprican. I tried a bit of Leonese as well.”

 

Sarah nodded in acknowledgement of the doctor’s efforts. “Well that narrows the choices down a bit. I had better get started “

 

As she took a seat by the young woman’s bed she noticed the restraints. “Doctor, are these restraints really necessary. The poor woman must feel like a prisoner.”

 

Doctor Jackson grimaced, “We restrained her more because we didn’t want her to hurt herself if she awoke in a panic. You are quite right its past time to remove them now she is awake and aware of her surroundings.” One of the nurses quickly removed the restraints.

 

Looking in to the eyes of the young woman Sarah decided that she start simply. “What is your name?”

 

The patient could obviously hear but there was no hint of recognition that she understood the words. With a mental shrug she continued asking simple questions in every one of the eight languages she spoke. Finally in frustration she asked in Old Gemenese a dead language used only by scholars.

 

“Quis est vos nomen?” 

 

The reaction from the woman in the bed was instantaneous.

 

oOoOoOo

 

“Quis est vos nomen?”

 

Hermione’s thoughts went in to overdrive. Why would anyone be speaking ancient Latin? Regardless she now had a way forward. “Meus nomen est Hermione. qua sum Ego?” 

 

Hermione could see the medical staff moving closer obviously watching the conversation but she kept her focus on the woman as she answered.

 

“Vos es in tabula Battlestar Triton. Operor non fatigo vos es tutus.” 

 

Hermione felt her stomach drop as she mentally translated the oddly accented Latin. Harry had saved them but by the sound of it they were still far from home. Glancing at Harry and seeing that he was still apparently unconscious. “Quis est res per meus amicus?” 

 

“Sit puteus, vos es valde felicis potuisse instituo.” 

 

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief at least Harry wasn’t badly injured. He was probably sleeping off magical exhaustion. That was one less problem on what was a growing list. Now it was time to find out just how bad the situation was.

 

“Operor vos usus nostrum capitale?” 

 

“Medicus servo lemma.” Hermione breathed a sigh of relief.

 

She spent the next hour trying to answer Sarah’s questions without giving too much away. Wherever they were it was not Earth, unless it was Earth of the far future or something equally bizarre. Some of the questions were obviously important but she lacked the context to answer. With no idea what Cylons were. The twelve colonies was a meaningless term. 

 

There were questions on the ship and the start point of their journey. Where had she gone to school. Thank Merlin for the language barrier ancient Latin gave her an excuse to ‘misunderstand’ questions. 

 

As soon as the officer had left a nurse had given her a sealed plastic bag that contained all her possessions. Smiling her thanks to the nurse she tore the bag open and tipped the contents on to her bed. Her wand was there unharmed still attached to her belt. The disillusionment on the wand holder was still operating. Moving slowly she tucked it up the sleeve of her hospital gown and whispered a sticking charm on the holder. Looking around she saw no one looking so she slipped out of bed she slowly padded over to Harry drawing her wand as she did so. Touching her wand tip to his arm she whispered a quietly as she could. 

 

“Enervate”

 

Harry’s eyes shot open, “Mione?”

 

Hermione pulled Harry in to a hug even as she whispered in to his ear. “Harry we are safe. But right now I am not entirely sure where we are or who our hosts are. They speak an understandable form of Latin. But I’m pretty sure that they are non-magical. Be careful what you say until we are safe to talk. I’m going to have to teach you a more permanent translation spell.”

 

As soon as she let him go the medical staff that had apparently seen Harry awake gathered around his bed. One of the nurses gently touched Hermione on the shoulder and gestured toward her bed. With a final glance at Harry who met her eyes for a moment she nodded to the nurse and complied. Next chance she got she’d teach Harry the translator spell. She had a strong feeling that they would need it.

 

oOoOoOo

 

Commanders Quarters – Battlestar Triton

 

All the department heads made for a crowded cabin but this was one meeting that Kyle did not want happening in the CIC. There were far too many things being juggled by the inexperienced command staff and mistakes especially mistakes in front a nervous crew could severely erode both confidence and morale. 

 

Kyle waited until everyone was seated before beginning. Turning to Lieutenant Dontas the most senior engineering officer he started with what was becoming his standard opening question in every meeting. “Okay first things first how are the repairs on the FTL proceeding?”

 

Richard Dontas smiled for the first time in three weeks. “We cycled up the main relays successfully. Main powers good and we now have every main relay replaced in core flight systems.”

 

Kyle wanted to be very sure he understood. “So FTL is good to go?”

 

“Yes Sir, as of a few moments before this meeting.”

 

Kyle felt a weight lift from his soul as Richard spoke. Now they had a chance. He gave the comments and expressions of relief a few moments to pass before asking his next question. “Combat readiness?”

 

Richard nodded, “Sir we have eighty percent of the point defence systems back up and eight of our missile tubes working.”

 

“Good enough Lieutenant. Pass my thanks on to your engineering crews.” Kyle stood as he spoke. ‘Well people the Triton has its teeth back. What about its claws, Smash how do we stand? 

Hector drained his drink before straightening in his seat. “We have two squadrons of twenty Vipers ready for action. We have twenty three Raptors aboard that are operation. Six of which are rigged for SAR. The problem is reserves. With our pilot shortage we have can’t actually launch more than two squadrons.”

 

Kyle accepted the report with a nod before turning to Emma Boyd. “What about Operations?”

 

Emma handed a folder to Kyle, “The new command crew readiness reports are done. The short version is that they are coming along well. After this I’ll start running some FTL simulations to guarantee we’ll be up to speed.”

 

Placing the folder on the table Kyle pushed it to the side. “Thanks XO okay so last thing for today our mystery guests.”

 

Emma pulled out a second folder, “Ensign Paul’s report is an interesting read although I’m not sure that it clears up any of the mysteries. So far as she can tell they understand Old Gemenese. The female who has given her name as Hermione Granger apparently speaks it fairly fluently. The male Harry Potter apparently understands enough but we needed Hermione to translate in to whatever language it is that they are speaking to each other. She gently interrogated them but we didn’t get much information certainly not the information we wanted.”

 

“I dislike the fact that they may be withholding information,” added Hector with a scowl.

 

“Could it be the Cylons?” asked Richard Dontas.

 

Kyle looked over the scant information in the report. They needed more information but with everything going on this wasn’t the highest priority. “Once the Doc clears them I want you to put them in separate secure quarters. Not the brig just somewhere under guard. Emma I want you and Sarah to get some answers. Until we know otherwise I want to treat them as potential hostiles. They arrived on a type of ship we have never seen before using technology that two engineers assure me is not colonial in nature. Given these facts I'm disinclined to give them benefit of the doubt."

 

oOoOoOo

 

Harry pulled his boots on with a sense of relief. Being dressed again was meant that he could perhaps get clear of what this spaceship or Hospital or whatever it was.

 

Hermione watched her friend with amusement as he muttered and then dressed. “Honestly Harry you carry on like you’ve been a prisoner.”

 

“I don’t like hospitals,” Harry clarified in a put upon tone of voice.

 

“Well apparently we are being moved from here. I gather by the fact that we now have soldiers guarding us that they realised or at least suspect I wasn’t being entirely truthful. I don’t know how we got here but I suspect our answers are in the ship, where ever they put it If we are going to escape then the sooner the better I don’t fancy hanging around on an unknown ship in the middle of a war zone.”

 

Harry tapped his wand that was now hidden in his wrist sheath. “Why don’t we just disillusion ourselves right here and do a point me spell? It’s not like the MOM is going to know we broke the statue of secrecy.”

 

“We might be able to get away from the guards but how long can we stay hidden if something goes wrong? Think for a minute, if we simply disappear they’ll be searching the ship and we don't know how effective their technology will be.”

 

“Okay so what do we do?”

 

Hermione looked down at the floor, “I don’t know.”

 

Harry patted his friend on the shoulder and sat next to her on the bed. “We’ll work it out together. We’ll keep our eyes and ears open for opportunities and be ready to move quickly when an opportunity does present itself."

 

oOoOoOo

 

Daniel Erikson was rejoicing being free of the confines of the Athena’s Bow even if he was less than comfortable being aboard a Colonial Battlestar. When the Colonial Lieutenant allocating duties had discovered that he was a trained field medic he had been immediately drafted to Life Stations. Expecting to be packing supply cabinets instead he found himself pressed immediately in to service suturing a bad cut suffered by one of the deck crew. He hadn’t noticed that Doctor Jackson was watching him work.

 

The Doctor had nodded at him “Not bad you have good hands. Nurse Pallindo please enter Mister Erikson in to the medical log as a volunteer medic.”

 

Today had been quieter and he had spent most of his four hour shift packing Field Medic kits for issue to the Marines. Given how quite it was Doctor Jackson and one of his nurses were currently racked out in the duty office leaving him in charge of the depopulated Life Stations. Pouring himself a drink of water he glanced over at the only patients. So far the two of them had done nothing but talk quietly in whatever language it was that the spoke. Given how polite and self-contained they were he was quite surprised at the presence of the two marine guards. Still he had a job to do so he filled a water jug he carried it over to the two of them and set it on the table with a smile. Receiving a smile from the woman he nodded and headed back to the duty desk. He had just reached it when the door swung open admitting a colonial officer and two Marines.

 

The officer waved him over. “Is Doctor Jackson in?”

 

“He’s in the duty office I’ll go and get him for you.” Daniel quickly woke Doctor Jackson who pulled on his white coat and followed him back to the duty desk.

 

Doctor Jackson raised his eyebrows at the four Marines in his Life Stations, “Ensign is there a problem?”

 

Ensign Paul shook her head, “No sir I’m here to transfer our two guests to their new quarters. Do they have medical clearance to be discharged from Life Stations?”

 

“Yes ensign they do. May I ask where they are being moved to?”

 

“Sir Major Brack wants them in secure quarters until we can confirm their origins.”

 

The doctor frowned, “Surely you do not mean the brig Ensign.”

 

The ensign quickly shook her head. “No sir a normal berths but under guard until we can determine if they are a threat.’

 

“Very well I assume that you are going to explain to our guests what is happening?”

 

Sarah looked a tad uncomfortable even as she nodded, “Yes sir I’ll do my best. We may need to sedate them if there is a problem.”

 

The doctor nodded and passed Daniel his key, “Daniel, please draw up two five mil syringes of Philyzene in case it’s needed.”

 

Daniel went to the drug cabinet and did as ordered. Something was not right here Philyzene was a heavy duty tranquiliser. Capping the two syringes he handed them to Jackson. “Here sir um....with respect Doctor are you sure about Philyzene?”

 

The doctor made a sour face as he checked the dosages. “I don’t want blood spilt in my Life Stations Daniel. If things go to Hades I want our two patients out for the count. Better a Philyzene hangover than broken bones. Now let’s stand back in case things do get out of hand.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Harry could sense the change in atmosphere in the Life Stations. There were now four soldiers in the room and the Doctor looked very unhappy. “I don’t like the look of this Hermione.” 

 

Hermione nodded in agreement and loosened her wand in its sheath. “Don’t do anything stupid Harry. Sarah is here so hopefully we can work this out without making things escalate.”

 

Sarah walked to stand at the end of Hermione’s bed flanked by two of the Marines. 

 

Hermione’s question was polite but her expression hardened as the two Marines stepped closer to the bed. 

 

One of the Marines stepped forward a pair of handcuffs in his hand.

 

Hermione could feel Harry’s concern growing as his magic surged around him. Overhead the lights flickered. 

 

Sarah could sense Hermione’s distress and tried to calm the situation. 

 

“Hermione what is happening?” Harry asked.

 

“I don’t know I think they are separating us.” As she spoke the two Marines moved to either side of the bed. The first took a firm hold of her arm left arm and then the second took her right.

 

Sergeant Millas was an experienced man who was chosen for this job because he had also served a tour in a military police unit. Unfortunately it was the wrong type of duty if you wanted gentle. Exactly as he had been taught he firmly pulled the girls arm up behind her back snapping one cuff on before reaching for the arm being held by his fellow Marine.

 

Hermione Granger cried out in pain as her arm was twisted up behind her back. 

 

Sarah winced as Hermione cried out, 

 

The lights flickered again and this time several of the medical monitors either died or started beeping.

 

asked one of the Marines on the door.

 

The guard holding Hermione’s left arm shifted his grip and paused as he felt the leather wand holster. 

 

The Sergeant reacted immediately and tried to minimise Hermione as a threat forcing her forward as if trying to make her head touch her legs. Unfortunately the other guard still had her arm. Another exclamation of pain escaped her lips as she reacted to having someone stretch her shoulder the wrong way. 

 

Harry moved.

 

oOoOoOo

 

Harry pulled his own wand as his feet hit the floor. A simple gesture and the Sergeant slumped stunned to the floor.

 

Doctor Jackson immediately hit the panic button at the desk sending an emergency signal to CIC.

 

Raising his wand he pointed it at the other Marine Holding Hermione. “Let her go.” The Marine may not have understood the words but Harry’s intent was obvious. 

 

Sarah stepped forward with her hands held high to show she didn’t carry a weapon. “

 

Harry’s wand didn’t move away from the Marine even as he noted the two marines on the door raise their weapons. In his poor spoken Latin he tried responding. Overhead the lights flickered as Harry’s magic pulsed around him. 

 

“Harry don’t I’m okay....arghh.” Hermione could feel her friend’s magic coiling around him and tried to defuse the situation but her attempt ended when the Marine still holding her arm tightened his already painful grip.

 

Sarah stepped forward again, 

 

Harry kept his wand on the Marine still holding Hermione’s arm behind her back. 

 

Sarah repeated Harry’s words and the Marine slowly released Hermione and took two steps backward. 

 

“I’ve had enough of this shite Hermione. Let’s get the hell out of here.” Harry waited until Hermione was by his side before whispering for her to shut her eyes. He cast a silencing spell and then gathered as much of his magic as he could before casting the Auror equivalent of a flash bang, ” Perspicuus Mico.” Praying that the blinding bright had disabled the guards he quickly disillusioned himself and then Hermione.

 

Pulling Hermione along behind him he headed for the door. 

 

As those in the room slowly recovered from the deafening noise and blinding flash one figure watched them go a puzzled expression on his face.

oOoOoOo

 

Battlestar Triton - CIC

 

“DRADIS contact……right at our extreme range, It’s not Colonial,” reported Lieutenant Aren Callet. 

 

Kyle cursed under his breath before responding. “Get the CAP there now. I need to know if it is a Cylon.”

 

Aren listened to his headset for a moment before replying. “Sir we have two Viper’s accelerating to take a look now. CAG wants to know if we want a second squadron in the air?”

 

Kyle moved to the DRADIS display, “Who is on route?”

 

“Trojan and Scatter Sir, they are two minutes away.”

 

“Sir we have an emergency being declared in Life Stations,” announced Aren.

 

“What great Fraking timing,” Kyle hissed in frustration. Get a squad of Marines down there. Callet where are our ships?”

 

Aren listened to his headset then looked up, “Sir Trojan has made contact. It’s a Cylon Heavy raider. Trojan is requesting instructions.”

 

Without taking his eyes off the DRADIS Kyle gave the order. “Weapons free Lieutenant I want that Raider destroyed.” 

 

“Sir Trojan reports that the Cylon has jumped.”

 

Kyle didn’t reply as he silently cursed their ill luck. When he looked up he made sure his face was once again neutral. “Okay so not long people until the Cylons know where we are. Navigation plot a jump for the moment we get our CAP aboard. Emma what is happening in Life Stations?”

 

Emma frowned as she held the wireless up to her ear. “I’m still trying to determine that Sir. Ensign Paul reports that our guests have escaped. The Marines are searching the ship now.”

 

“Find them Emma. I want to know what the frak is going on. Take charge of the search.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Moving as quietly as they could Harry and Hermione made their way through the maze of corridors. Every so often when they reached an unpopulated area Harry would cast a point me spell confirming their course. After a while they were started by a large klaxon and a voice over. Almost straight away they began to see more and more people in the passageways so Hermione cast her translation spell on them both. They missed the announcement but continued on. Eventually they reached a large busy space. All around the deck there were ships in various states of repair.

 

Hermione tapped Harry’s arm and pointed toward the far side of the room. Harry turned and immediately spotted the odd looking ship.

 

“That has to be it.” Hermione said softly her voice barely above a whisper.

 

“Let’s go,” Harry replied.

 

“Wait look there are guards.” Hermione pointed out the four armed men positioned near the ship. 

 

“I see them. The door at the back is open.” Harry started to move toward the ship but stopped when he realized that Hermione hadn’t followed him.

 

“Well we should be able to seal it if we can get aboard. Please stop a minute. I’m worried Harry I have a bad feeling about this.”

 

Harry stopped and turned his face toward his friend. “What choice do we have? God knows where they were taking you. There is no fucking way I was letting them drag you off.”

 

A bit surprised by his passion Hermione nodded.

 

“If things go pear shaped we’ll have to play it by ear. How about we apparate back to that empty corridor where we last cast the point me?” Harry waited for her nod before he took her hand. “Let’s go.”

 

Moving carefully they made their way across the crowded space. It was close but they managed to reach the rear of the ship. Hermione quickly studied the wall looking for something to close the hatch while Harry kept watch.

With frustration in her voice Hermione whispered, “I can’t find anything. Bloody hell something must close the hatch.”

 

Harry stepped backwards as he examined the roof and nearly fell when his foot caught on a cable running from the hatch to the outside. He automatically caught himself but somehow managed to knock over a tool box. Outside the ship two of the guards looked up and began to approach the ship raising their weapons as they came.

 

“Hermione seal it,” whispered Harry as he raised his wand.

 

Hermione raised her wand to touch the hatch, “Propinquus quod obfirmo.”

 

With a grinding noise the hatch slowly began to close. Hermione kept her wand touching the door as she poured magic in to the spell.

 

The guards outside were yelling warnings as they moved toward the hatch. 

 

“Come on Hermione!”

 

Afraid the guards were about to fire Harry raised a reflective shield designed specifically to stop solid objects. 

 

“What the frak!”

 

Harry spun to see a young woman in orange overalls carrying a coiled cable standing in the hatch that led to the control room. Dropping the cable she rushed to the hatch reaching it just as it closed plunging the ship in to darkness.

 

“Well that is just fraking great,” muttered the woman. “I’m stuck here right in the middle of a Cylon attack.” After a few moments the woman produced a torch. “Right the chief got this open once before so there must be a release here somewhere.”

 

 

oOoOoOo

 

“What happened?” demanded Emma as she reached the knot of Marines, deckhands and engineers surrounding the stranger’s ship.

 

Chief Gray gestured toward the ship. “The damn hatch shut with one of my deckhands still inside. Now we can’t get it open.”

 

Emma frowned as she considered the situation. “Is there any way our two fugitives could have gotten aboard?”

 

The senior Marine shook his head, “No way Sir. We’ve been right outside since the alarm was raised. There ain’t no shadows to hide in they would have had to walk straight past us.”

 

All of them paused as an announcement sounded over the speakers warning of an imminent FTL jump.

 

Emma could see the CAP flight ships being wheeled back in on to the deck. “Okay Chief well let’s get the CAP secured and then we’ll get your knuckle dragger out.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Harry was seriously considering stunning the woman but held off. He was creeping over to where Hermione had been standing when he felt what he could only describe as a ripple run through him. The odd feeling passed almost instantly leaving him feeling light headed.

 

“Lovan etus nome?” The woman froze pointing her torch at a nauseous looking Hermione who was blinking in the direct torchlight. “Corvus nullos!”

 

Harry cursed whatever it was that had happened had disrupted their spells. He had to act fast. Raising his wand he took aim at the woman but stopped when Hermione made eye contact with him and subtly shook her head. Unfortunately it wasn’t subtle enough and the woman spun around immediately spotting Harry.

 

With a wave of her wand Hermione restated the translating spell.

 

“What is going on? Hold on you’re the two people from the ship. ” The woman pulled a long metal tool off her belt and held it out like a weapon. “Get back.”

 

“We don’t mean you any harm,” Hermione assured the woman.

 

The woman snorted, “Like I’m going to take your word on that. How did you sneak in here?”

 

“Look we are just trying to get out of here.” Hermione explained. “We didn’t even know you were aboard.”

 

“So you’re just going to steal the ship?” Her makeshift weapon came up again.

 

Hermione smiled reassuringly, “Well it was ours before it was yours so I could say the same to you.”

 

“I….I suppose. So what now am I a hostage?” The woman asked as she slowly lowered her makeshift weapon.

 

Hermione shook her head, “God no you can leave as soon as we figure out how to let you.”

 

“What do you mean how? This is your ship isn’t it?” The tone was sharp but she looked genuinely puzzled.

 

“Now that is a long story. The short version is that we found the ship and through a number of….mistakes we ended up here.” 

 

“So you don’t know how to operate the ship?”

 

“Not as such no,” replied Hermione.

 

“Then we need to get the hatch open. I’m sure the chief is probably working on it but anything we can do to help ourselves is a good idea.” The woman slotted her tool back on to her belt, “My names Rebeka.”

 

Hermione waved her wand at Harry who gave a half-hearted wave, “Harry.”

 

‘And I’m Hermione. Rebeka what were you trying to do on the ship?”

 

Rebeka shrugged, “We had been running some tests trying to get something to power up. The chief hasn’t been able to restore power to anything at all. I’m only here because the chief needed the power cables.”

 

Hermione accepted Rebeka’s explanation at face value, “Right well first up we need a better light source. Harry?”

 

Harry hesitated, “Are you sure Hermione?” 

 

“We’re all in this together,” explained Hermione.

 

Harry raised his wand and cast a light spell.

 

“What are you.......” began Rebeka only to trail off as light flooded the chamber. Her eyes flicked from Harry’s wand to Hermione “How did he do that?”

 

Hermione gestured toward Harry a wry smile on her face, “For now let’s just say that Harry and I have some special abilities available to us. I promise we’ll explain later.”

 

Rebeka was looking back and forth between the Harry and Hermione with shock and fear clear in her expression “I…..but……what are you?”

 

Hermione sheathed her wand and held her hands up, “We are people just like you and right now we are people with a problem. I promise I will explain but for now we need to work out exactly what the situation is. Do we need to tie you up or will you help us?” 

 

Rebeka was silent for almost a minute looking back and forth between Harry and Hermione. “I’ll help but you owe me a proper explanation.”

 

oOoOoOo

Battlestar Triton - CIC

 

“Jump complete. No DRADIS contacts.”

 

Kyle looked around the CIC seeing the relieved looks passing between his people. “Okay people let’s keep focused here. I want a CAP up as soon as possible. Let’s make sure that we haven’t got any unwelcome neighbours.”

 

“Sir I’ve got the XO on wireless.” 

 

“Put her through,” ordered Kyle as he pulled on a headset, “Report Emma.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Chief Gray shrugged, “We’ve tried a cutter but we can barely scratch the surface. Whatever this material is….well it’s amazing. It’s barely even transferring the heat. I hope your two runaways know something about this we could use this stuff in hundreds of ways.”

 

Emma and Kyle shared a glance at the Chiefs commentary. 

 

“Can we blow the hatch Chief?” asked Kyle.

 

The Chief shook his head, “I doubt it Sir but even if we did we could kill Rebeka.”

 

“I’ll check with the Marines,” offered Emma. “Maybe shaped charges would do it.” 

 

Kyle shook his head in frustration, “Chief do whatever you have to. Emma I want you back on to the hunt for our two missing guests. I’m not going to have two potentially armed fugitives running around the ship.”

 

“How do you want us to play it Sir?” Emma asked.

 

Kyle knew exactly what she was asking. Did he want the Marines using lethal force? “Emma I want them alive unless there is no other way.”

 

“Understood,” Emma acknowledged before walking over to the cluster of Marines.

 

Kyle turned to the Deck Chief, “Chief let me know if you need any more man power.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Harry cursed as his spell worked properly. On their last visit magic had ‘awoken’ the ship. Now spells were working normally. Well spells that didn’t affect the ship were working anyway. “Hermione you used a sealing charm on the door why won’t an unsealing charm work?”

 

“I tried already it’s almost certainly warded,” replied Hermione. “The Egyptian wizards used a similar warding scheme to protect their tombs from theft. A magic null field built in to the stonework. This isn’t quite the same. Here I think it’s either the materials or some aspect of the technology. Which is all very interesting but it doesn’t explain what happened our why it’s different now. Morgana this is frustrating.”

 

Rebeka was meticulously searching the bulkheads trying to find any sort of release for the hatch. “Can you two read this writing?”

 

Hermione shook her head, “No I’m afraid not.” 

 

“Not even with your,” Rebeka wiggled her fingers.

 

“No sorry that only works on spoken languages.” Hermione tried to hide her sigh as Rebeka returned to studying the wall. The young deckhand had obviously gotten over her initial fear and was now asking questions as she tried to figure a way out of their situation.

 

“Is it getting stuffy in here or is it me?’ asked Harry.

 

Rebeka looked up from the bulkhead a frown on her face. “It is a bit……Oh Hades there is no life support!”

 

Harry looked a bit puzzled, “Is that bad?”

 

“Very unless you know a charm to create oxygen,” replied Hermione.

 

Rebeka did some quick calculations. “In a space this big we’ve maybe got enough air for another few hours and that’s a big maybe.”

 

Harry felt like punching the wall. “So what now, do we apparate out and hand ourselves over for whatever bloody experiments they think up. Remember the hospital ward Hermione they were handcuffing you and taking you away. I’ll be damned if I’ll simply hand you over for that.” Responding to his anger Harry’s magic was responding. Although only visible to Hermione Rebeka could still feel something building in the room. To her it felt like a huge static charge building.

 

Hermione looked a bit shocked by his vehemence but Rebeka actually looked frightened. “What happened?”

 

“They hurt her when they came to take us from Life Stations.”

 

“Okay I understand you are fraked off. If it will help I can tell them what’s happened here. Surely they’ll understand why you didn’t tell them.” Rebeka kept her voice level as she tried to calm the suddenly tense situation.

 

Hermione cleared her throat, “Harry I’m out of idea’s here. I think we need to consider that we may have no choice but to accept that we can’t use the ship. We know it was damaged before we tried to apparate out. Maybe we can eventually fix it, maybe not. We can’t do anything if the air runs out. We will have to deal with the people here sooner rather than later. We can’t hold three bubble head charms indefinitely.”

 

Harry looked down at the floor for a moment before looking up and replying. “Then we do it as ourselves. The statute of secrecy is worthless out here so I’m not hiding what we can do. Let’s negotiate from a position of strength.” 

 

Hermione frowned as she considered her response carefully. “The statute may be redundant but it was in place for a reason. People fear what is different. I understand your reasoning it’s just that….Harry what if their fears override their sense. It’s why the wizarding world has been separate for so long.”

 

Harry gestured toward the dead control panels, “You said it yourself what choice do we have?”

 

Harry and Hermione spent the next twenty minutes giving Rebeka a brief run down on their recent history. 

 

oOoOoOo

 

Daniel Erikson was confused as to his purpose. For so long his life had been simple. God he had been running for years with a singular purpose in mind, Survival. 

 

He had once been a part of a larger purpose. A purpose he had believed in. Then it had been hijacked by a man he thought his brother. Plans had changed the purpose had become clouded with hatred and rhetoric. God’s message had become twisted and subverted. He had spoken against his brother. He had appealed to the others to find a better course. Then they died. He had learned what was happening and he taken the cowards way out. He had chosen the path of survival.

 

It was simple if lonely life. He would take a new identity and live for a period as that person before moving on. He was always careful to stay off the DRADIS. He chose simple jobs, short term jobs where he could move on as he needed. The Athena’s Bow had been his home for seven months. He had known his place there. He was Daniel the ships medic and chef. Simple jobs he had undertaken with care and pride. Now things had shifted again.

 

He had seen the stranger bring forth his power. Dealing with the threat the Marines posed. He had never seen anything like it. Were they like him something not human but mimicking the shape? Was this the reason he was here. Was there some greater purpose something more than the random happenings that had been his life these last few years.

 

For the sake of his sanity he had to find out. 

 

oOoOoOo

 

“Okay I’ll test apparate. See you in a sec.” Harry first disillusioned himself and then concentrated on the spot just outside the ship. He half turned and disappeared with a soundless displacement of air. His appearance outside the ship went unnoticed. There was still a lot of activity but importantly the immediate area was clear so he apparated back inside. Once back inside he ended his disillusionment. “There was nothing impeding the apparition and the outside is clear.”

 

“Are we ready then?” asked Hermione.

 

Harry and Rebeka nodded.

 

Harry disillusioned himself and watched Hermione do the same. After she faded to a distorted outline he turned his attention to Rebeka. “Okay Rebeka this will feel a bit odd like you are being squeezed all over. Don’t panic. After we arrive you remember what you need to do?”

 

Rebeka nodded, “Find the Major and tell him that you want to meet. I remember Harry. I may only be a knuckle dragger but I’m not stupid.”

 

Harry took Rebeka’s left arm, “Here we go. Hermione you ready?” 

 

“Yes,” confirmed Hermione with a slight tremor in her voice.

 

Rebeka’s sudden appearance outside the ship caused a shocked crewman to drop the half dozen metal struts he was carrying. Chief Gray looked up from the cutter wielding crewman he was supervising in annoyance but the rebuke remained unvoiced at the sight of Rebeka.

 

“Rebeka…….frak me you did it!” Chief Gray tapped the crewman in front signaling for him to cease working. “Thank the Gods we were getting worried. Are you hurt do you need Life Stations?”

 

“Chief I’m fine but we’ve got to get the boss down here.” 

 

Chief Gray nodded slowly taking Rebeka’s request at face value. “Okay Bek hold on the XO was just here.” Seeing a Marine watching the Chief waved him over. “Marine could you let the XO know we’ve retrieved our lost crewman.”

 

The Marine nodded and pulled out his wireless. 

 

Chief Gray handed Rebeka a water bottle and she took a long drink before nodding her thanks. There was a small group of deck crew now gathered around them. 

 

Tom Cotti collected the parts he dropped shaking his head in confusion. “It’s like you just popped out of nowhere.”

 

Chief Gray looked his crewman over carefully. She looked well enough. “How did you do it Bek? We were starting to get worried.”

 

Rebeka smiled, “It’s a great story Chief but I think it’s better if you hear it alongside the boss.”

 

Chief Gray was about to ask something else when Emma appeared followed by two Marines. “Chief you needed me?”

 

Rebeka straightened her shoulders coming to attention. “Sir I have been asked to organise a meeting with Major Brack.”

 

Even without the formal language Emma could see just how serious the young woman was being, “A meeting with whom?”

 

“That would be the crew of our mystery ship Sir.”

 

Emma’s eyes narrowed as she considered her next move. “You have seen them?”

 

Rebeka nodded, “I was on the ship with them. They helped me get out after the ships systems failed to work.”

 

“Marines get a perimeter in place. Chief pull your people back,” ordered Emma as she turned and pointed at Rebeka. “Not you crewman, you can start explaining.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Kyle sat back in his chair and studied the young woman standing at attention in front of his desk. She was standing painfully straight with a very serious expression on her face. At any other time that would have generated a private smile. “At ease Crewman, you wanted to speak with me about our mystery guests?” 

 

Rebeka relaxed slightly as she began to explain her request. “S-Sir I….that is….Harry and Hermione want to organise a meeting with you to discuss and end to their….um… situation. They are prepared to answer your questions within reason.”

 

“I see,” replied Kyle. “Crewman I mean no offense but I don’t understand what you hope to achieve here. I’m disinclined to negotiate in absentia with people that attacked our people.”

 

Rebeka sensed Harry’s touch on her arm. Harry and Hermione were good people caught it a bad situation. She had to try. “Sir…..I’ve seen a few things while we were trapped on their ship. With respect whatever you are thinking I would urge you to talk to them. They are afraid of us Sir. That’s why they attacked. They thought you were separating them so you could torture them for information.”

 

Kyle shared a look with Emma who nodded. The incident in Life Stations had been reported to Emma by Ensign Paul. The Marines involved had been far more physical than their mission required. The report had suggested that the Marines had spooked the two fugitives. If they truly frightened of being tortured that would certainly qualify. The question of course was why the thought they would be tortured. Questioning, Hades even interrogation was not torture. He hoped any Colonial officer would not follow such an order.

 

Kyle nodded, “Well I’m willing to meet them. How are you in communication with our guests?” Almost immediately he could see the relief on the Rebeka’s face.

 

The occupants of the room heard two voices saying something in an odd sounding language and Harry and Hermione appeared with a slight shimmering as their disillusionment spells ended.

 

The stunned silence remained unbroken until Harry stepped forward and nodded. “Thank you for agreeing to talk with us.”

 

Kyle tried to get his voice working, “I…how did you….”

 

“Perhaps we should explain,” offered Hermione.

 

Crew and Passengers of the Battlestar Triton

Commanding Officer: Major Kyle Brack  
2IC: Lieutenant Emma Boyd  
Acting CAG/Raptor Squadron Leader: Hector ‘Smash’ Golan  
Doctor Stephen Jackson – CMO Triton  
Lieutenant Eli ‘Whiplash’ Corven  
Lieutenant Taran ‘Chaser’ Sul  
Lieutenant Aren Callet – Acting Tactical Officer  
Junior Lieutenant Scott Barrington – Navigation officer  
Ensign Sarah Paul – Communications Specialist/Linguist   
Sergeant Major Richards – Senior surviving NCO – Triton Marine detachment  
Chief Petty Officer Markus Gray – Deck Crew Chief  
Rebeka Toll – Crewman - Engineer  
Daniel Erikson – Medic/Chef crewman from the Athena’s Bow


	3. Gods Among Us by arturus

Gods among us - A Harry Potter and Battlestar Galactica crossover

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

 

Last time:

The occupants of the room heard two voices saying something in an odd sounding language and Harry and Hermione appeared with a slight shimmering as their disillusionment spells ended.

 

The stunned silence remained unbroken until Harry stepped forward and nodded. “Thank you for agreeing to talk with us.”

 

Kyle tried to get his voice working, “I…how did you….”

 

“Perhaps we should explain,” offered Hermione.

 

Chapter 3

 

“How in Hades did you do that?” asked a suddenly pale Emma.

 

Hermione replied in a calm voice, “It’s called disillusionment. It’s basically wipes me from your visual field.”

 

“Is that how you escaped the Life Station?” asked Kyle.

 

Hermione nodded, “Basically yes.” 

 

Emma was still looking back and forth between Harry and Hermione, “What are you……..are you human?”

 

Hermione nodded, “As human as you but with some extra abilities.”

 

Rebeka tried to explain, “Its magic like in fairy tales…...Sir.”

 

Kyle smiled, “Witches and Sorcerers….I don’t know what technology……merciful Gods.”

 

Harry drew his wand and transfigured a spare chair in to Labrador retriever which barked happily and began sniffing Kyle’s foot. No one but Hermione noticed the slight flicker in the lighting.

 

The Colonial officer watched the dog in open mouthed shock as it licked his hand.

 

Harry ended the spell and there was a chair where the dog had been.

 

Rebeka was beaming, “That was amazing!”

 

““How come I’ve never heard of this,” asked a wide eyed Emma. “Surely the Gemenese would have been up in arms. They’re religious fundamentalists!”

 

Harry glanced over at Hermione who shook her head. No help there, “The who-menese?”

 

Emma waved her hand indicating Harry and Hermione, “Gemenese the people who speak…..hang on you’re talking Caprican.”

 

“Translation spell it translates what we are saying in to whatever language the recipient is hearing. In this case Rebeka must have been speaking Caprican.”

 

Kyle leaned back in his chair and studied Harry and Hermione, “So what do you think is going to happen now?”

 

Harry locked eyes with Kyle, “Until we can work out a way to get home we’re stuck here. We are happy to help or keep a low profile if that’s what you prefer but you can forget any plans to torture us for information, experiment on us or whatever euphemisms you want to use. We don’t want trouble but you should know that we are more than capable of protecting ourselves.”

 

Emma found her hand on her sidearm in response to the cold anger in Harry’s voice. She was about to rebuke their ‘guest’ when Kyle raised a hand signalling for her to remain silent.

 

“I know we have precious little trust to build on but I hope that we can develop some trust between us. Until then I will treat you as passengers and you may work on your ship. There will be guards near your ship as much for your safety as ours. They’ll leave you alone unless they see you doing something to endanger my crew. Will that be acceptable?” at Harry’s nod Kyle continued. “Thank you. If you don’t mind I am curious as to why you would assume you were going to be tortured or experimented on.”

 

Harry’s eyes flicked to the bruise on Hermione’s wrist before he answered. “Our people are made up of those that have our abilities and those that do not. For the most part those that have our abilities live apart from the others. That is because of events several hundred years ago. Our community was terribly persecuted. The punishment for having our abilities, abilities you are born with was to be burnt alive. Suffice to say we hid ourselves away.”

 

Kyle ran a hand through his hair, “I see, perhaps later we can discuss this further. For now I think Rebeka, if you are willing of course can act as your liaison. XO set up some quarters for our guests.”

 

Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance before Hermione nodded. “That’s acceptable Sir. One thing your officers, from before…….I just wanted to make sure no one was hurt.”

 

Kyle offered a faint but genuine smile, “Thank you for asking and no they were not injured. Surprised but not injured.”

 

To Kyle's eyes Hermione's tense shoulders seemed to relax a tiny bit, “That’s good.”

 

Kyle and Emma watched as Rebeka led their two mystery guests from the room. As soon as the door closed Emma turned to Kyle.

 

“Sir with all due respect is this wise? We have no idea what they are capable of.”

 

Kyle sat back in his chair, “You saw the same as I did. I don’t know what the truth is here but I doubt we’ll learn it by locking them up. On the other hand I’m not giving them free rein either. I want you to brief Rebeka, her crew chief and the marines. Until I say otherwise we give them some space but at the first hint that they are playing us I give you permission to lock them up.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

After recasting their translation spells, Harry and Hermione followed Rebeka back to the Hanger deck. The engineer seemed fine with their presence and happy to be their liaison. In fact she seemed to be viewing it as some sort of reward. When Hermione had tried to apologise for dragging her in to their problems the engineer had laughed.

 

“No really it’s no problem……I was expecting to be dismissed and told to keep my mouth shut. This sort of stuff is way above the pay grade of a deck crewman. Now I get the opportunity to hear your story and play about with your ship. Hades now I get to see some more…you know.” She waggled her fingers.

 

The deck crew chief was slightly less excited to have the two recent fugitives back in his Hanger deck but Rebeka was adamant that it was more about the chiefs dislike of non-engineers wandering about his working area. After agreeing to let Harry and Hermione work on their ship he pulled Rebeka aside and gave her a taking to that did sober the young engineer up a bit. Harry suspected that she’d been told in no uncertain terms that she was responsible for them and to be careful with the two unknowns.

 

Rebeka was a bit subdued for a while but soon snapped out of it as they began planning out how to begin work on the still sealed ship. Another engineer called Sarah Nova came and presented Rebeka with a detailed drawing of the ship. Apparently she had been working with some other engineers in trying to understand how it worked. 

 

Harry scratched at his head as we looked up from the diagrams, “I think I should apparate back in. I can always cast a bubblehead charm if the air is a problem. There must be a way to release the hatch. Maybe it’s voice activated or something.”

 

Hermione was about to reply when a look of surprise crossed her face followed closely by a thoughtful look. 

 

Harry knew that look. At school it meant an upcoming trip to the library, “What is it Mione?”

 

“In the tomb you spoke parseltongue. Remember right before we found the ship.”

 

Harry nodded, “I remember I think we need to have a closer look at the ship.”

 

Rebeka looked a bit lost but Harry wasn’t about to explain about Parseltongue to anyone here until he had some understanding about how they would react. Leading Hermione to the rear of the ship he began looking for etchings or designs that born a resemblance to the two snakes he had seen. 

 

After nearly an hour with no luck Harry tried plan B he laid a hand on the hatch and started saying words in Parseltongue. Eventually he paused and shook his head. “I can’t think of any other words that might relate.”

 

“Did it do something before?” asked Rebeka who had realised that they were trying out different ways to open the hatch.

 

Harry scratched his neck and shot Hermione a rueful look, “You could say that. Only it is not working this time.”

 

Rebeka tried another tack, “What did you say last time?”

 

Harry touched the ship and said, in Parseltongue, “Typical eh lads.”

 

He almost forgot to move out of the way when the hatch opened.

 

“You did it Harry!” Hermione pulled Harry in to a hug before releasing him. Before he could move Rebeka hugged him as well before quickly releasing him. 

 

The engineer looked excited as she grabbed a tool kit and passed it to Harry. “Come on what are we waiting for?”

 

Over the next few hours they sat down and went over what the plans laid out and considered a way forward. Rebeka was unflagging in her enthusiasm and Hermione was as driven as ever. Harry however eventually called for a break stressing that he needed to do some thing other than peering at strange crystals.

 

After enduring all the odd looks and whispers while grabbing three meals from the commissary they universally decided to eat in the ship.

 

Harry shuddered at the taste of the reconstituted stew but dutifully eat another mouthful before looking over at Rebeka, “Rebeka do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”

 

Rebeka nodded as she swallowed a mouthful.

 

“What are Cylons?”

 

Rebeka supposed she could understand the question. “Cylons are artificial life forms. The Colonies originally built them to help mankind. They did the dangerous jobs, construction, and mining.” Rebeka shrugged, “And of course in the end they fought our wars. Then they rebelled and humanity ended up fighting a war with our own creations.”

 

“Bad?” 

 

“Yeah pretty bad, twelve bloody years of war. Eventually an armistice was reached and the Cylons disappeared. For most people the war was over somehow the twelve colonies had survived. We moved on. Then the bastards came back. From what the Commander told us they somehow disabled the fleet. We know they were nuking Caprica when we jumped. We were pretty beaten up and the ship was a mess but we survived.”

 

“What about the rest of your people?” Hermione asked softly.

 

Rebeka shook her head, “We have no idea if there is anything left.”

 

Before Harry or Hermione could say anything a loud alarm sounded, “Action Stations, Action Stations.”

 

Rebeka jumped up and rushed back out to the Hanger Deck followed by Harry and Hermione.

 

Chief Grey was yelling for his people to get moving. After shouting out some orders he turned to Rebeka. “Bek get them off my deck.”

 

Rebeka looked around and pointed them in to their ship, “It’s going to get real busy out here so you had better stay in the ship for now.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Outer CAP perimeter picket - Raptor of lieutenant Mikhael 'Gorgon' Hobbin/ECO Lieutenant Amanda ‘Skimmer’ Collis

 

Gorgon looked down at his DRADIS console sounded a warning. At the very outer range of his sensors there was a single contact and according to the IFF it was Cylon. After a moment the blip disappeared.

 

“Frak, record it Skimmer,” Gorgon ordered no full well she already would be. Skimmer nodded and he thumbed his wireless on, “Gorgon to Triton.”

 

“Triton Actual, report.”

 

“DRADIS contact sector twelve IFF confirms Cylon. Took a look and jumped.”

 

“Acknowledged Gorgon hostile contact, immediate recall is ordered, acknowledge.”

 

“Acknowledged, we are coming home.”

 

Gorgon knew one thing about the skipper. The ex-Viper pilot was unlikely to frak around with any call he made. He’d barely finished thinking it when the recall for all the CAP flights came over the wireless. Turning his Raptor he increased power only to be confronted with a loud beeping noise in response.

 

Gorgon looked down at his controls, “What the…..Skimmer?”

 

Skimmer was already coaxing information out of the flight systems. “On it……we’ve had some sort of surge in the power systems. Power plant is fluctuating badly.”

 

Another beep elicited a curse. Several warning lights were showing on his console and his electrical systems flickered before another set of warning lights appeared. Some coaxing of his on-board systems indicated something was seriously wrong with their Raptor.

 

“Gorgon to Triton, we have a problem here. Half our avionics just went offline. I am attempting to restart.” 

 

Gorgon moved quickly through the system restart and was relieved to see three quarters of his flight systems come back on line. “Nice work Skimmer!”

 

“Not me…..I’ve got a lot of warning lights back here.” Skimmer sounded as calm as ever but he caught the concern anyway.

 

“Gorgon are you calling krypter?”

 

“Negative Triton we have most systems back.”

 

Turning to Skimmer he saw her already tightening her straps and gave her a nod. “Here we go.”

 

Gorgon didn’t push the Raptor despite the fact it was apparently behaving. On his approach he was given a straight run in sending a Viper in to a holding position. 

 

The Raptor was still short of its designated Landing Pad when the entire avionics system shut down sending the ship careering in to the safety barrier before slamming in to a landing pad. The Raptor had essentially nose dived in to the reinforced deck. 

 

Throughout the hanger deck alarms sounded as the deck crew rushed to damage control and rescue stations.

 

oOoOoOo

 

The lift lowered to reveal a heavily damaged Raptor. 

 

Chief Grey was the first man at the hatch which was badly warped by the impact and failed to release. “Frak it’s worse than I thought. Get medics here now and we’ll need a gods damned cutter….NOW PEOPLE.”

 

The loud speaker sounded again, “All flights aboard – Prepare to jump.”

 

Rebeka grabbed a container marked FEK and rushed over to the Chief and dropped the forced entry kit at his feet, “Chief here.”

 

Chief Grey activated the high speed cutter and began cutting through the buckled struts around the hatch. After cutting through the post and latch he pulled back and Rebeka and another crewman wedged levers and attempted to force the hatch.

 

“No good,” complained the other crewman.

 

The chief nodded and cut the other side as three more men wheeled up an air compressor and the larger cutter. 

 

“Go,” ordered the Chief and Rebeka and her colleague tried the hatch again. This time they managed to force the hatch partly open. The chief looked in but there was no way he would fit.

 

‘”Move Chief,” ordered Rebeka as she slipped in to the narrow space.

 

The other crewman tossed the chief a first aid kit and he tossed it to Rebeka. “Be careful Bek. We’ll get the big cutters up here in a minute and the medics are on the way.”

 

The Raptor was a mess but Rebeka could see the ECO still strapped in to her seat. A quick check showed she was alive but unconscious. “Chief the ECO is alive but unconscious.”

 

She’d be okay until the big cutters did their work. The pilot however was only partially visible in the crumpled cockpit of the Raptor. Squeezing past a fallen console and buckled wall plate she reached about halfway in to the cockpit and touched the pilot’s flight suit. His helmet was badly dented and he had blood coming from his nose and ears. His legs were trapped by his console but the worst was the large cut across his shoulder. Pulling out a bandage she put pressure on the cut. 

 

“Come on Chief.”  
oOoOoOo

 

Chief Grey started the compressor when yelling started up from behind the downed Raptor. 

 

“Fuel leak,” warned the hidden crewman. “We’ve got fraking fuel on the deck. CLEAN UP CREW.”

 

The Chief cut power to the cutter and went to check for himself when a wall of flame came from the rear of the ship sending him staggering backwards with the intense heat.

 

“FUEL FIRE….FIRE CONTROL,” screamed one of the crewmen.

 

Harry and Hermione watched the crew leap in to action in their attempt to rescue the crew in the damaged ship. When their new friend leapt in to the ship Harry found himself holding his breath. He didn’t even feel Hermione’s fingernails arms digging in to his arm.

 

“Bloody hell,” whispered Harry as a wall of flame appeared form the rear of the ship. He didn’t even think as he pulled his wand only to find Hermione gripping his wrist. “Think Harry.”

 

Chief Grey knew that the fire crew would bring the fire under control but that wouldn’t do much for the trapped flight crew and his crewman. Pointing to rear of the ship he called out to the senior crewman over that side, “FOAM IT.”

 

Seeing the fire crew moving in he was about to turn to return to the hatch when an explosion rocked the deck blowing him off his feet and slamming him in to a heavy cart loaded with spares.

 

Hermione looked horrified at the carnage on the floor of the hanger deck and released Harry’s hand.

 

Harry flicked his hand and cast a flame freezing charm on himself and forced his way in to the hatch of the shattered Raptor. The cabin was thick with smoke so he cast a bubble head charm as he tried to get his bearings. There was a figure slumped in a seat so rather than physically check he cast a low level Auror spell that was designed to check for life signs. The woman was alive but he wouldn't be able to get her through the hatch by himself.

 

Harry cast a partial body bind to immobilise the injured woman’s neck and back to prevent further injuries then moved forward.

 

Rebeka was unconscious and bleeding but alive so he cast another bubble head charm on her before checking the pilot. The man had a serious gash that he treated with a minor healing spell. It wasn’t fully healed but it was no longer bleeding.

 

The heat and smoke were getting worse and while he was protected the three others were not and that didn’t leave him a lot of choices. He could transfigure a wall but he had no idea if that would make the situation worse. A portkey would be too dangerous for the injured. Apparation was the better choice but not an easy one to actually do. Side along apparition with one person was okay. The same with three extra people was very dangerous and would more than likely leave him magically exhausted. However the smoke and heat were certainly telling him that multiple trips may not be an option. 

 

Normally you relied on your partner to hold tight but three unconscious people meant that was not an option either. Looking around he found a length of cable and pulled it out from the wall. A quick engorgement charm later and it was long enough to wrap around all of them. He took a deep breath and pictured the rear of their ship. 

 

oOoOoOo

 

Hermione was the first person to reach Chief Grey a few steps ahead of the two marines posted near their shuttle. 

 

The chiefs orange overalls were ripped and his hair was singed but he looked to have escaped being badly burnt. His arm however was torn open. She found herself almost gagging at the sight of bone, torn flesh amidst the spreading pool of blood.

 

Hiding away their magic be damned there was no way she could just leave the poor man like this. A simple healing spell cleaned the wound and another sealed it. It wasn’t as good as a trained medi-witch could do but it would keep him alive. She slipped her wand back in to her sleeve and looked over at the wrecked ship. In her concern for Harry she didn’t notice the looks and fear and awe on the faces of those who had witnessed her healing spells.

 

Before she could move a loud crack sounded causing everyone nearby to look around for the cause. Hermione however had a perfect view of Harry appearing with three injured people lying around him. Harry staggered and then collapsed in a heap.

 

Hermione winced as one of the marine’s exclamation of, “In the name of the Gods.”

 

Her own whispered “Oh God Harry,” wasn’t loud but the Medic kneeling next to her still heard it.

 

The newly arriving medics began to triage and move the wounded as the deck crew extinguished the fire. As order returned to the hanger deck it became increasingly clear to Hermione that questions would soon be asked. Too many people had seen Harry appear out of thin air.

 

oOoOoOo

 

Battlestar Triton – Bridge

 

“Jump complete,” reported Lieutenant Scott Barrington from navigation.

 

Kyle turned back to tactical, “DRADIS?”

 

“No contacts.”

 

‘Sir we have the Hanger deck reporting an explosion.”

 

"What happened?" demanded Kyle as soon as the communications officer finished speaking to the hanger chief.

 

"Raptor nose dived in to the pad....there was an explosion on the hanger deck. There have been some injuries….no fatalities being reported. Petty Officer Nova has requested an officer down there as soon as is convenient.”

 

Kyle turned to Emma, “Emma get someone....no scrap that head down yourself and get the damage bill.”

 

Emma nodded and hung her headset on the tactical table.

 

Kyle raised his voice to address the bridge crew, “Okay people, we did well and it looks like the Triton has her wings back but let’s make sure. I want a full report on readiness from all section heads in an hour. Let’s make sure we didn’t break anything.”

 

Turning to his navigation officer Kyle leaned forward, “Scott I want you to liaise with the CAG. We need a CAP patrol up but I also want Raptor pickets as far out as is safe. We lucked out but I’m not going to rely on luck. Next time it could be a Baseship jumping in.”

 

“Yes Sir.”

 

Kyle walked the bridge as the inexperienced crew ran diagnostics and checked in with crew in other parts of the ship. He kept his face stern but overall he was pleased with how well they were handling their duties.

 

“Sir XO on the wireless,” the Petty Officer held out a Wireless headset.

 

“What’s happening down there XO?”

 

“The fire is under control Sir. However we do have a bit of a situation building down here.”

 

“Meaning?”

 

“Um….our two new friends….lent a hand with the situation, quite a few witnesses Sir. Harry is among the injured. He was unconscious and on his way to life stations a few moments ago.”

 

Kyle held back on the urge to swear up a storm. “XO get a read on what’s happening and report back. If you think our guests have been inappropriate or have put our people at risk then put marine guards on them. Use your judgement Emma.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Life Stations

 

As Hermione watched a nurse check Harry over she felt a light touch on her shoulder, “Are you injured?” 

 

Turning she saw a vaguely familiar face that sparked her memory. It was the medic that had been on duty last time she was here. “No I’m fine. Sorry I don’t think I caught your name.”

 

The medic smiled, “Daniel, Daniel Erikson. I’m a civilian medic just helping out as it were.” Daniel paused for a moment looking almost embarrassed as he tried to find the right words. After a few moments he seemed to give up, “I’m sorry I’ll let you get back to your friend.”

 

Hermione reached out and took Daniel’s hand. “Thank you Daniel for now and for before. You were very kind to us both.”

 

Daniel smiled and gestured toward the other beds. “Don’t tell the Doc but I overheard him saying that Harry will be fine. Apparently he’s just exhausted.”

 

Hermione felt better hearing him say it even though she had assumed it was a simple case of magical exhaustion magically transporting three people was a lot more exhausting than apparating just your self. “What about the others?”

 

Daniel looked around as if checking for anyone listening in before turning back to Hermione. “The Raptor pilot and his ECO should both be fine. From what I could see they were both pretty banged up but nothing that can’t be fixed. We had a few burns among the deck crew and the chief may have a fractured arm. The damage appeared to be pretty bad……Hermione you don’t have to answer me mind you but…..well how did you….”

 

Hermione realised what Daniel was asking, “I….I need to get permission to tell you that. I’m sorry Daniel.”

 

Daniel gave her a wry smile, “I guessed as much. Don’t be surprised if the Doc’s gunning for you though. They are scratching their heads over the rate of healing.”

 

Hermione offered a tentative smile in return, “Thanks for the warning.”

 

“Miss Granger?”

 

Hermione turned to see Emma standing near the door with several marines.

 

Emma gestured toward a room off the main area. 

 

Hermione glanced over at Harry before standing and following the other woman.

 

Emma cut straight to the chase, “What happened?”

 

Hermione explained in detail leaving nothing out.

 

Emma ran a hand through her hair before she answered. “Well I can’t fault you for your actions but I’m not sure quite what to do now. From what I’ve heard so far at least a dozen people saw you heal the Chief and that was before Harry appeared…..apparated as you call it. I better report in for now it might be better if you stay here with Harry. I’m going to leave two Marines outside Life Stations. Not to keep you in but to keep the curious out.”

 

Hermione nodded in understanding and Emma quickly took her leave stopping only to talk with two of her Marine escorts. With a soft sigh she settled down to wait for Harry.

 

oOoOoOo

 

Commander’s Quarters 

 

“You seem convinced,” commented Kyle.

 

“I am, the stories all hold up. It was an accident and it was going bad fast when Harry and then Hermione stepped in. Doc said that from what’s left of it the Chief’s wound was pretty bad. He could have bled out. The Raptor crew were in a pretty bad way as well. Gorgon has a cracked skull and a concussion. Skimmer has a few broken ribs and some internal bleeding. They’ll both recover fully as will the Chief and Crewman Toll.”

 

“Okay well the bells been rung how do we un ring it?” 

 

Emma shrugged, “Not sure we can too many saw it. Even if we order them to keep quiet it will still get out.”

 

Kyle glanced at his watch and then rubbed his face as he felt the bit of exhaustion. “I know but for now let’s try and contain it. First let’s brief the witnesses. Then get the section heads together and we can work out how we are going to deal with this. “

 

Before Emma could respond the wireless next to Kyle’s desk indicated a call.

 

“Brack here…….hmm understood. Sound Action stations and scramble a CAP, let’s wake everyone up Lieutenant.”

 

“Sir?” asked Emma.

 

“DRADIS contact IFF is Colonial. I’ll take the bridge XO. You get the people briefed.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

CAP Patrol

 

Lieutenant Erin “Whisper” Shaw was playing this one by the book, “Triton this is Whisper I have a visual on what looks to be a Raptor. CAP is going to do a close pass to see if we can see any markings. They have not, repeat have not acknowledged our wireless calls. But the local star is putting out a fair amount of interference.”

 

“Whisper, Triton Actual you are to treat as hostile until confirmed.”

 

“Acknowledged,” Whisper hadn’t forgotten his briefing especially the warning that there were ex-fleet units who had apparently gone renegade.

 

Whisper decelerated and did a port side flyby as his two wingmen peeled off to observe. The Raptor was still showing running lights but appeared to have its drive powered down. Reversing his course he further slowed his Viper and drew close to the drifting ship.

 

“Triton, target appears to be a Colonial Raptor. I can see the pilot slumped over the controls.”

 

“Acknowledged Whisper, Raptor 417 is launching now for a rescue op. ETA seven minutes.”

 

Whisper was about to acknowledge his orders when his DRADIS went crazy. All his radiological alarms were suddenly off the charts.

 

“Triton I have a massive radiological alarm. There must be a nuke on the Raptor.” Whisper turner his Viper and went to full military thrust even as his wingmen did the same.

 

 

oOoOoOo

Triton CIC

 

“Detonation…..the CAP flight got clear.”

 

Kyle turned to communications, “Get all flights aboard and prepare to jump to the next set of co-ordinates.”

 

“DRADIS contact…..Three Cylon Basestars. They’ve jumped in boxing us. They are launching raiders.”

 

Kyle looked over at Tactical, “How long till our CAP is aboard?”

 

“Four minutes,” replied Lieutenant Callet.

 

“We don’t have four fraking minutes. I want all primary and point defence batteries prepared to cover the CAP retrieval. The minute their aboard I want us ready to jump.”

 

The first wave of Raider’s was being held at bay, barely by the concentrated KEW fire storm. But it wasn’t keeping everything away from the ship.

 

The Petty Officer at damage control called out a continuous stream of reports as more Cylon fire slipped through the defensive screen, “We are taking damage……starboard flight pod reports damage and casualties….”

 

“One of the Basestars has launched nukes,” warned Navigation. “Forty seconds to impact.”

 

“Vipers aboard!” reported Callet.

 

“JUMP,” ordered Kyle.

 

“Jump successful,” replied Navigation.

 

“Gods that was close,” commented one of the Petty Officers.

 

Kyle took a deep breath to steady his nerves. They had survived. “All right stow the chatter people. We took some hits I want damage and casualty reports.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Life Stations

 

Hermione found herself in a difficult position as the wounded started arriving in Life Stations. Initially she had simply stayed by Harry’s bed. As she watched, Daniel and one of the nurses worked desperately to save a crewman whose abdomen had been ripped open by flying debris. 

 

On the other side an unconscious woman was having her burns treated and across from Harry someone was screaming in agony. The doctor and the other staff ran from one patient to the next triaging the injured.

 

“…..it’s no good. Even if he was in surgery,” the nurse complained even as she kept working.

 

Daniel was working feverishly trying to clamp a severed artery, “If I can stop the bleeding…..maybe he’ll live long enough to get him on the table.”

 

Hermione felt sick watching them. She had suppressed many of her memories regarding the war she had lived through. But this….chaos was a stark reminder of the aftermath of the Battle of Hogwarts. Could she help? More importantly could she help without being caught? Should she? 

 

Racked by indecision she tried to look away, to block out the screams and the smells. Looking away she caught a glimpse of a hand as it dangled from the table. A gold ring caught the light….a wedding ring. 

 

Daniel was muttering as he worked, “…losing him….I don’t think….what?”

 

A hand touched his arm and he turned to see Hermione standing beside him. “Daniel, let me help.”

 

Daniel watched as Hermione raised a polished wooden stick, “Hermione, what are you doing?”

 

Hermione didn’t answer instead she concentrated on gathering her power and then the precise incantation as she cast several healing spells in succession. Finally she drew her wand along the wound sealing it. She didn’t know it but as she poured magic in to spells her eyes took on a golden hue and floating motes of magic followed her wand movements.

 

“A miracle……by Asclepius and Apollo!” whispered the nurse as she knelt next to Hermione.

 

Hermione took a deep breath as a feeling of exhaustion passed through her. She always found healing magic exhausting. To her it felt as if you gave a little bit of your energy to the recipient. Looking up she saw the nurse kneeling at her feet and Daniel gaping at her in surprise. A quick glance around showed several others had also noticed. The cat was definitely out of the bag now. There was no way she could obliviate so many people. 

 

Looking around she drew back her shoulders and focused on Daniel, “How can I help?”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Harry rolled his eyes at an exhausted looking Hermione, “At what point did you think healing people in front of everyone was a good idea?”

 

“What would you have done?” Hermione asked her tone waspish.

 

“Probably the same as you,” Harry reached over and took Hermione’s hand. “You did the right thing Mione. You saved a lot of people today. If that doesn’t help our cause then we’re screwed anyway.”

 

Hermione gave his hand a quick squeeze, “Language Harry.”

 

After the events in Life Stations the two marines had politely led Hermione and the newly awakened Harry to a small room and stationed themselves outside the door. The senior man had explained that they were worried about what might happen next if the two of them had remained in Life Stations. Especially once word spread further of the ‘miraculous’ healings Hermione had provided for the critically injured.

 

Both looked up as the door slid open to reveal the Medic Daniel carrying a tray.

 

“The Doctor wanted me to make sure you two are okay. So I bought you some food and drink.”

 

“Thank you, how are things going out there?”

 

Daniel placed the tray on the low table before replying, “Under control now. The doc has just started dealing with a few surgery cases. Well the ones you left.” The last words were accompanied by a raised eyebrow.

 

Hermione looked over at Harry who had an expression of resignation of his face, “Harry?”

 

Harry could sense his friends indecision He understood it as it mirrored his own concerns over what exactly to tell the Colonials. “You may as well tell him Hermione. He already knows some of it.”

 

Daniel was looking back and forth between them. There was no mistaking the genuine interest on his face.

 

“All I ask is that you keep what we tell you to yourself unless you check with us first.” At Daniels nod Hermione drew her wand and showed it to Daniel. “Harry and I were born with the ability to access certain powers. Among our people it is an uncommon gift. Only a small percentage of the population had this ability. By accessing these powers we can achieve many things. The healing you saw was one application of our powers. My wand allows me to focus my powers more effectively.”

 

Hermione flicked her wand toward one of the cups on the tray and it transformed in to a hummingbird. Holding out her hand the small bird flew up to perch on the palm of her hand.

 

Daniel was trying to hide his shock. What he was seeing was impossible. Humanity had never displayed such powers before. What did it mean?

 

Seeing the medic’s expression Harry leaned forward, “Are you alright Daniel?”

 

“Are…..are you human?”

 

Hermione nodded reassuringly. “As human as you are. We were just born with an extra ability.”

 

Daniel was silent for almost a minute as he tried to organise his thoughts. The works of God were truly marvellous. “Simply amazing…I can’t believe that the rest of the Colonies haven’t found out about this.”

 

Hermione shook her head, “Daniel we aren’t from the colonies……”

 

“Hermione,” Harry warned quietly.

 

Now the shock on Daniel’s face was unmistakable, “The thirteenth tribe……are…..are you from Earth?”

 

Hermione felt a wave of relief pass through her. Someone knew of Earth they might get home yet. “It’s a long story but yes we are.”

 

Daniel felt a wave of panic assaulting him. He had to tell them, “You must not tell anyone. There are people who would kill you….do you understand?”

 

“What……Daniel what, why?” Hermione looked shocked at the emotional response and the fear on Daniel’s face.

 

Daniel froze. What was he doing? He had hidden for so long both from his own people and the Colonials. He should just walk away. What did he care about the sacred scrolls? He looked down and was surprised to see his hands shaking.

 

Harry leaned forward, “Are you okay?”

 

He wanted to say it was a mistake to remain silent and move on once more. But he couldn’t, could he. There was nowhere else to run. No places in which to hide from what he was. “I can’t say anything more here. Please trust me on this say nothing of Earth or the Thirteenth Tribe to anyone. We’ll have to talk later when we can’t be overheard.” 

 

With that he stood and left the room. 

 

Harry watched the visibly shaken man leave the room, “What the bloody hell was that about?”

 

Hermione looked thoughtful, “I have no idea but he was upset. Perhaps it’s some sort of religious taboo or something like that. Rebeka did say that there were twelve colonies. Perhaps that has something to do with it.”

 

“Obviously there is stuff going on here that we are not privy to,” Harry’s eyes flicked to the door where two Marines still stood guard. Maybe we should heed Daniel’s advice. At least until we know what the hell is going on.” 

oOoOoOo

 

Kyle felt like screaming. “You have got to be fraking kidding me. What was she thinking?”

 

Emma had appeared in CIC with Doctor Jackson and practically dragged him to his office. Then, assisted by the Doctor she had given him a graphic report of what had happened in Life Stations

 

Doctor Jackson cleared his throat, “Kyle she saved several lives and reduced a significant number of critical injuries. I didn’t report this to get her locked up. I want her help. I’m critically understaffed and in normal circumstances I would be asking for a medical evacuation of the critically wounded. So believe me when I say I have no problem with her…..well whatever it is. What I am worried about is the reaction some of the crew had. I had two of my nurses muttering prayers to Apollo and Asclepius outside the room your Marines shut them up in.”

 

Emma ran a hand through her hair. A habit that Kyle knew meant that she was nervous. “That’s not all Sir. I heard one of the deck crew calling their ship Apollo’s chariot.”

 

“Oh just great so now they’re demi-gods? Right, XO set up another meeting with our two visitors. Doctor I’ll expect you to be there as well I think we need to find out exactly what our two young friends are capable of.”

 

oOoOoOo

Crew and Passengers of the Battlestar Triton

Commanding Officer: Major Kyle Brack  
2IC: Lieutenant Emma Boyd  
Acting CAG/Raptor Squadron Leader: Hector ‘Smash’ Golan  
Doctor Stephen Jackson – CMO Triton  
Lieutenant Aren Callet – Acting Tactical Officer  
Junior Lieutenant Scott Barrington – Navigation officer  
Ensign Sarah Paul – Communications Specialist/Linguist 

Sergeant Major Richards – Senior surviving NCO – Triton Marine detachment

Daniel Erikson – Medic/Chef crewman from the Athena’s Bow

Chief Petty Officer Markus Gray – Deck Crew Chief  
Rebeka Toll – Crewman - Engineer  
Petty Officer Sarah Nova – Engineer Avionics Specialist 

Lieutenant Erin “Whisper” Shaw  
Lieutenant Mikhael 'Gorgon' Hobbin  
Lieutenant Amanda ‘Skimmer’ Collis ECO  
Lieutenant Eli ‘Whiplash’ Corven  
Lieutenant Taran ‘Chaser’ Sul


	4. Gods Among Us by arturus

Gods among us - A Harry Potter and Battlestar Galactica crossover

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

 

Last time:

 

Emma ran a hand through her hair. A habit that Kyle knew meant that she was nervous. “That’s not all Sir. I heard one of the deck crew calling their ship Apollo’s chariot.”

 

“Oh just great so now they’re demi-gods? Right, XO set up another meeting with our two visitors. Doctor I’ll expect you to be there as well I think we need to find out exactly what our two young friends are capable of.”

 

Chapter 4

Triton – CIC

 

“Jump complete,” reported Junior Lieutenant Barrington at navigation.

 

Almost immediately Lieutenant Callet announced a contact, “DRADIS contact…….IFF is coming back as Colonial.”

 

“Action Stations,” ordered Kyle, “Get them on the wireless.” 

 

“Contact claims to be the Priestess …..A civilian transport,” reported Ensign Paul.

 

Kyle turned to Emma, “XO I want our CAP launched to escort the Priestess in. Order their captain to hold their position until our escorts arrive."

 

Kyle watched the tactical display and let out a small sigh as the contact seemingly slowed to a halt.

 

“The Priestess has complied and is holding position. Sir they are asking for medical assistance they apparently have injured aboard.”

 

Kyle rubbed at his tired eyes. Injured civilians certainly changed the situation. "Get a message to life stations. Let the Priestess know we have help on route for their injured.....let the CAG know that I want a raptor with a medic and marine escort in the air ASAP."

 

oOoOoOo

Flight Deck

 

The Raptor barely touched the deck before the hatch unsealed and opened. A medic waved over several others and the unloading of three injured civilians began. Emma watched the medics working for a moment before waving over the senior Marine from the armed escort.

 

"Report Marine," ordered Emma.

 

The Marine saluted, "Sir it's a mess over there. These are the worst three but......well I'd venture that most of them are pretty busted up. Medic’s will likely be telling the doc they need to evac a few more.”

 

Emma nodded accepting the report until she had time for a full debrief. "We'll get some more medics over there soon. Did you get where they were from?"

 

“Their Captain said he escaped from the outskirts of Tauron City right after the Cylon attack began. He and his crew grabbed their families and as many people as they could and got off the planet. From the way he talks he sounds ex-military.”

 

“How many onboard?”

 

The Marine shrugged, “I asked he said that he’s got twenty six others on board, quite a few children. I didn’t get a head count as we were helping with the wounded.”

 

“Very well, write it up and get something to eat before the doc orders you out again.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Raptor 198 

 

Daniel started preparing his two equipment bags as the SAR Raptor docked with the large transport. As the ECO released the hatch he stood and followed Nurse Orla Thane as she exited.

 

It appeared that most of the crew and passengers were gathered in the cargo hold. He had been told that there were quite a few injured but he hadn’t been prepared for the sheer number of injuries.

 

“Daniel”

 

Daniel turned as Orla waved him over, “Daniel can you triage the crew while I start with the children?”

 

The first off the rank was an older man in dark green overalls and a bullet proof vest. Daniel noted that he had a dressed wound on his upper arm as well as a burn on his neck. He also noted the holstered military pistol the man wore on his hip.

 

As Daniel pulled on a pair of gloved the man gestured toward Daniel’s field kits, “You a doc?”

 

Daniel shook his head, “Medic, we are just working out the order we need to send the wounded over to the Tritons Doctor. Can I ask what happened to your arm?”

 

“Shrapnel clipped me when we were pulling out the others. Fraking Cylons started landing in force as we got the last of our passengers aboard.”

 

Daniel nodded and gestured to the bandage, “May I?”

 

As he received a nod he began to remove the dressing. The wound appeared to be a straight through and through of the Biceps Brachii. Someone had done a reasonable job of cleaning the wound and it looked to be healing quite well. 

 

“Whoever patched you up did a good job of cleaning the wound up. I’m going to give you a shot of antibiotics and some clean dressings but otherwise it looks to be healing well.”

 

The man nodded and Daniel prepared a shot of broad spectrum antibiotics.

 

Three hours later he was finishing off the last of the passengers. Orla had just returned in the Raptor after transporting two children and a woman with a broken and burnt wrist back to the Triton.

 

Orla came over and knelt down next to Daniel as he pulled on another pair of gloves in preparation of treating the last patient, “Almost finished here?”

 

“Just strapping this ankle and I’m done.”

 

“Good work, okay I think I’ll speak to their Captain and let him know what’s happening with the people we transferred over to Triton.”

 

After he finished bandaging he handed his patient’s friend a fresh bandage and a packet of pain killers along with instructions to rest his ankle as much as possible. Both his patient and his friend thanked him and he nodded absently in acknowledgement of their thanks.

 

He quickly packed up and returned his gear to the Raptor. Stowing the unused supplies and marking off what he had used on the official paperwork. With a sigh he stood and looked out the hatch to see if Orla had returned. What he saw made him freeze in shock. An older man dressed in dark coveralls was talking to Orla. Probably the Captain but accompanying him was a very familiar face. 

 

One.

 

One, the likely architect of all this madness he had always pushed for a war of extermination against their makers. One as he preferred to be known among his enemies John Cavil had destroyed his entire line. In his insanity turned against his creators….his parent’s wishes. 

 

The humans had to be warned. Cavil could only be here as an infiltrator or saboteur. Even worse was the fact the One was just the thin edge of the wedge. His poor misguided brothers and sisters would not be far away.

 

Given the miraculous recent events in Life Stations it wouldn’t be long until One heard of the two mysterious travellers. Would he want them destroyed or would he study them in an attempt to understand or control their power.

 

He had to do something but what?

 

Once aboard the Raptor Daniel fought to hide his growing sense of fear both of discovery and for what his insane brother might do next in his quest.

 

oOoOoOo

 

Commanders Quarters – Triton 

 

Kyle stood and greeted the Captain of the Priestess as soon as the older man walked in the door, “Welcome aboard Captain Emerton.”

 

Captain Steven Emerton braced and saluted before smiling, “Major…..sorry old habits.”

 

“How long?” asked Kyle with his own smile.

 

“I did twenty as a knuckle dragger in the fleet and got out as a Warrant officer,” replied Emerton as his smile disappeared, “Can’t say I expected to be fighting after I retired.”

 

“What happened?” asked Kyle.

 

“Cylons invaded. First they nuked the city then they started landing troops. I was loading fuel and cargo from my families dock,” seeing Kyle’s look he explained. “We own a shipping business. Anyway once the toasters started killing I got my family and those that I could and took off. Whole thing was a blur. Last thing I saw on the ground were humans leading squads of Cylons. Fraking cursed traitors.”

 

Kyle could feel his own anger rising at the thought but forced it back down, “Have you seen anyone else?”

 

Emerton shook his head, “No but then again we jumped as far out as we dared. The Priestess was pretty close to the red line as it was, how about you sir?”

 

Kyle gestured for the merchant captain to sit, “We picked up the crew of a merchant vessel and a……small shuttle. I’ve had reports that there are others out there. Captain Tor received a message that the Galactica survived along with a civilian fleet. Apparently they made for Ragnar anchorage to rearm I suspect. I’ll give you a full brief later for now I have a few questions Captain.”

 

“Ask away Major.”

 

“First up what is your ships condition?”

 

“Excellent Major the Princess just had her major overhaul.”

 

As his interview continued Kyle was pleased to hear that the Princess and her crew were experienced with a few being military veterans. Even some of the passengers had useful trades. Emerton was also happy to lend his people out to under-staffed Battlestar. Another pleasant surprise was that her cargo was mainly food.

 

Emerton pointed to a name on the list, John Cavil. “We even have a Priest on board. Found him in a bar of all places.”

 

Kyle raised an eyebrow at that, “Really well he might come in useful. We’ve had some stressful days and I’m sure a visit from a priest will help ease some cares.”

 

“I’ll bring him over for a chat.”

 

oOoOoOo

Life Stations

 

Hermione smiled as Daniel entered with a tray of food. “Harry’s just ducked to the loo.” As she took the tray she was surprised to see Daniel’s hands were shaking.

 

“Daniel…..what is it?”

 

Daniel looked back at the door where the two marine’s stood watch. “I……I need to speak to you.”

 

“Should we wait for Harry?”

 

Daniel looked even more worried, “I don’t know how much time I have before…….well before I need to go.”

 

“Is it a patient, do you need us outside?”

 

“No it’s…” Daniel paused as the door to the small toilet swung open and Harry re-entered the room.

 

Harry grabbed a drink from the tray as he sat on the bed, “I thought I heard your voice Daniel.”

 

Hermione waved her hand at Harry, “Shush Harry, what is happening are you in trouble?”

 

Daniel looked like he was going to be sick as he leaned forward, “It doesn’t matter. Listen you know about the war?”

 

Hermione nodded, “Rebeka told us about the war.”

 

“Then you understand why it is so important that the Cylons never find Earth. The Cylons have been led in to a war against humanity not just the twelve colonies.” Daniel was speaking so fast he was almost incoherent. 

 

Harry leaned forward putting a hand on Daniel’s shoulder, “Daniel slow down, what happened?”

 

Daniel took a deep breath, “I know someone on the ship. I….I’m not sure but I think he is an enemy. It made me think about what I said to you before. There are people that wouldn’t hesitate to kill everyone on board if they thought you were from Earth.”

 

Hermione looked like she was about to stand and call for help, “If he’s dangerous you’ve got to warn the crew.”

 

“No, no wait. I don’t know if I am right about…..I could have mistaken someone else for him.”

 

Hermione glanced over at Harry who shrugged, “Daniel there is something you are not telling us.”

 

Daniel looked torn as his eyes flicked back and forth between Harry and Hermione. “Did Rebeka explain about the twelve colonies?”

 

Hermione nodded, “Yes but not in a great deal of detail.”

 

Daniel leaned forward, “For most people there are twelve tribes of men. The founders of the twelve colonies however the sacred scrolls tell a different story.”

 

“Sorry but what are the sacred scrolls?” Harry asked.

 

“They are a history of man and they tell of the Thirteenth tribe who left Kobol some time early in history. What little is said in the ancient scrolls simply tells us that they travelled a different path to the other twelve tribes. Eventually they made their home upon a planet called Earth.”

 

Hermione raised an eyebrow, “Wow that is….I mean it could just be a coincidence.”

 

Daniel shook his head, “That doesn’t matter to the leader of the Cylons. Coincidence or not your people are humans. That’s enough for you to be a danger. If you add in your….powers you would become a priority target.”

 

Harry frowned as he considered Daniel’s words. “How do you know all this Daniel?”

 

“I can’t tell you that. Please just trust me on this you need to be careful.”

 

“Daniel…” began Hermione only to be cut off by Daniel’s raised hand.

 

“I’m sorry I can’t tell you more,” with that Daniel reached the door.

 

As soon as it swung shut Harry was moving following but Daniel but Hermione grabbed his arm. “Wait we were told to stay here.”

 

Harry looked rebellious for a few moments before nodding, “I know and that’s another worry. I thought we had an understanding with their boss and yet we are still locked up.”

 

“Well in all fairness we no doubt caused a bit of a hullabaloo using magic.”

 

Harry ran his fingers through his hair, “I know but we did it helping save some of their damn crew. Yet here we are. Then Daniel tells us we should be damn careful with which I agree but in his case it’s because people will kill us if we tell them where we are from. To be honest unless we hear the Cylon side of things we can’t exactly sure who is telling us the truth here.”

 

“They started a war of extermination against man,” responded Hermione but without any real passion. In truth Harry had a good point. Short of using magical means they had no real way of knowing who was being truthful.

 

“Which started because mankind enslaved them,” Harry replied in a somewhat subdued tone. “What a bloody mess we've found ourselves stuck in the middle of.”

 

Hermione’s expression changed to one Harry was intimately familiar with. He and Ron had dubbed it the ‘thinking face’.

 

“Harry I think we need to get the ship working soon or we’ll need to find another way off this ship. Right now they don’t trust us how long will it be before they fear us?”

 

“I don’t think we are far from that now and if we take Daniel’s warning at face value. It’s a bloody minefield.” Harry gestured toward the door. “We need to find out where we stand.”

 

Harry walked to the door and knocked. When the Marine opened it Harry gestured toward Hermione, “When will Hermione and I be allowed to return to working on our ship?”

 

“I’m sorry sir but the XO gave us clear orders.”

 

Harry frowned at the Marine but held back his response when he felt Hermione touch his arm as she stepped forward.

 

“Are we under arrest again?”

 

The marine shook his head, “Sorry Ma’am but you’ll need to take that up with the XO.”

 

Hermione nodded, “Could you please pass a request on for a meeting?”

 

“I’ll pass on your request ma’am.”

 

The Marine left and both Hermione and Harry noticed that he locked the door after closing it.

 

“Well this is really is a fine bloody mess isn’t it,” muttered Harry as he sat on the bed.

 

Hermione sat down beside him and took his hand as she offered a wain smile, “We don’t know anything yet Harry. Let’s not borrow trouble.”

 

Harry shrugged and offered a half-hearted, “Maybe.”

 

Unsure what to say Hermione simply sat holding her friends hand. They didn’t have to wait long before the Marine was back this time accompanied by Ensign Sarah Paul.

 

“The Commander wants to see you both.”

 

Hermione nodded and stood but Harry didn’t move. Instead he was studying Sarah.

 

After a long uncomfortable pause he slowly stood. “Sorry but in what capacity will we be seeing the Commander. Are we prisoners?”

 

Sarah shook her head, “No.”

 

“Then why are we in a guarded room?”

 

Sarah stiffened, “This is for your own safety. We didn’t want any incidents after your exploits in Life Stations.”

 

“Our exploits,” repeated Harry. “Well let’s not leave the good Major waiting.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Life Stations

 

From her bed Rebeka watched as Harry and Hermione were led away by the Marines before turning to look at Chief Gray in the next bed, “It’s not right Chief.”

 

Chief Gray wanted to defend the powers that be but he found himself flexing his newly healed arm. “Bek…..I don’t know what’s going on but you are right we owe them. We just have to keep faith; the Major will do the right thing.”

 

Rebeka hoped he was right.

 

oOoOoOo

 

Priestess – Passengers Mess

 

John Cavil ate quietly as he studied the humans around him. In hindsight coming aboard the Priestess had been both a mistake and a fortuitous event. He had been in a bar near the outskirts of the Tauron City when the plan had begun. He had wanted to watch the orchestrated death being unleashed. 

 

What he had not expected a Tauron merchant captain to order the bars occupants on to his ship. Such a pity that he missed his long awaited revenge it was to be hoped that his brother Ones had better luck in the rest of the Colonies. 

 

It was rather fortuitous that this disappointing turn of events had led him to another pocket of survivors. Now all he needed to work out was how best to work the colonial battlestar’s destruction in to his plans. He wanted a plan in place for when the fleet arrived. There was no way he’d risk compromising himself without a resurrection ship within range.

 

He looked down at the rather nice meal and sighed. It was such a pity that this meal was to be his last before returning to the rather less imaginative food on a basestar.

 

oOoOoOo

 

Commander’s Quarters – Battlestar Triton

 

Kyle didn’t offer his two guests a seat and from Harry’s narrowed eyes the slight wasn’t lost on him. Neither was the statement made by the continued presence of the Marines, Emma and Sarah. All of whom were armed.

 

“I want some answers from you. Straight answers to my questions,” Kyle’s tone was cold. 

 

Harry continued to stare at Kyle as Hermione replied, “May I ask what it is you wish to know?”

 

“Well firstly I want to know what possessed you to do what you did and risk a riot in Life Stations.”

 

“We healed some badly injured patients. Would you have preferred that we let them die?” Hermione countered.

 

“I would have preferred you to have shown some Gods damn discretion. I now have crewmen thinking we have demi-gods wandering the ship dispensing miracles. How long before they demand you raise the dead or defeat the fraking Cylons?”

 

“Would you have preferred them dead?” Hermione asked again.

 

“No of course not but neither did I want your however well intentioned rescue causing chaos either,” Kyle took a deep breath. “Fine the cat is out of the bag on your healing abilities. We will deal with that. What I want to know is where you are from and what else you can do. I’ve been lenient so far hoping to build some trust between us. After this incident I’m not so sure having you two loose on my ship without knowing what you are capable of is the best course.”

 

Harry didn’t flinch from Kyle’s stare. I f he was trying to intimidate he was going to have to try harder. “I’ve told you who we are. I’ve told you what we are. I’m not sure what else you feel you need to know.”

 

Kyle leaned forward, “I want to know where you are from and I want a run down on what you are able to do with your powers.”

 

Harry was well aware of the officer and Marines standing behind him as he continued to match Kyle’s stare. “I see and if we don’t answer all your questions?”

 

“Harry,” warned Hermione.

 

“Then I’ll have no choice but to lock you in the brig until you do. You are guests on this ship, in a time of war. I have no real background on you and you seem determined to avoid answering questions about you are from.”

 

Harry smiled coldly, “So much for building trust eh, I’m happy to discuss what we can do at least in regards to our abilities. Where we are from remains…off the table for now. Why should we trust you with the safety of our entire people considering how we’ve been treated? We save your crew and heal your sick and we get threats. I can see that you want some idea of our powers. I’m happy to do that. You want to restrict our movements somewhat. I can see that as well. The safety and wellbeing of your crew is your priority. Well the safety and wellbeing of Hermione is mine.”

 

Hermione stepped forward to hold Harry’s hand, “I understand your concerns and I am happy to explain magic in further detail.”

 

Kyle nodded slowly somewhat relieved that Hermione had acceded to his requests, now for the more difficult conversation. “Thank you. I’ll assign an officer for you to brief. Until that happens I’ll have to ask you to hand over you weapons.”

 

“I don’t think so,” replied Harry as he subtly twisted his wrist dropping his wand in to his hand. It was an Auror technique called short gripping that if done correctly allows an Auror to conceal the fact that you were holding your wand.

 

Kyle locked eyes with Harry, “I insist as ship regulations forbid civilians to carry weapons aboard a Colonial Battlestar.”

 

Harry didn’t even blink as he stared down Kyle ignoring the two Marines behind him. “That’s easily solved we’ll get off your ship.”

 

“And how do you propose to do that?” Kyle asked.

 

“Harry,” warned Hermione with a distinct edge to her voice as she stepped forward. “If our actions have caused you any difficulty we apologise for that. But we will not give up our wands and you should know that taking them will not render us unable to use magic. That ability is a part of us. At best you would simply make it harder for us to be precise when using our powers. If that is unacceptable then I suggest that you release our ship from your hanger deck and we will find our own way home.”

 

“Your ship doesn’t work,” Emma pointed out.

 

Hermione shrugged, “A fact I am well aware of.”

 

Emma narrowed her eyes, “I think you’re bluffing.”

 

“Lieutenant,” warned Kyle. “Harry, Hermione I am trying to see a way forward here but I will not put at risk the crew of this ship. I don’t know what has happened to the rest of the Colonial fleet. We could be the last surviving remnant and that puts the responsibility for our people’s survival in my hands. I cannot risk all their lives by trusting blindly. 

 

Your powers have never been seen before. Your ship is so different from our most cutting edge technology that we can’t even understand how it works. Forgive me for saying this but why should I trust you? You could be working for the Cylons for all that I know.”

 

Hermione was silent as she considered Kyle’s words, “I can understand your position. Could Harry and I talk for a moment? I’ll need to use my wand. I promise you I will not attack you.”

 

Kyle nodded and Hermione cancelled their translation spells. She noted that the marines had their hands on their sidearm’s.

 

“What will we do Harry?” Hermione asked in English. 

 

“I vote for leaving.”

 

“And how do we do that, the ship doesn’t work?” asked Hermione.

 

Harry shrugged, “What then do we give up our wands?”

 

“No but maybe we won’t have to. We have to show them that we can be useful. Don’t forget there is no statute of secrecy out here. What if I offer to help repair their ship as well as helping with the injured? We can keep working on our ship while we do so.”

 

Harry didn’t look convinced, “Maybe but will they accept that? They didn’t seem too keen on us doing magic at all.”

 

Hermione chewed on her lip for a moment before replying, “They are worried about what we can do but from what I can see they are in a pretty desperate position as well. I’m even happy to have an escort. It worked okay when we had Rebeka. Maybe if we let them keep an eye on us we can build a bit of trust?”

 

“I’d prefer Rebeka but if it is a choice of a cell or an escort I’ll take an escort. I think you are right about their situation as well. Though to be honest I’m not sure if that makes me want to help or leave. And well Da….um the other warning we received. That makes me cautious as well. We are only hearing one side of things here. To my mind this is a bit like the goblin-wizard wars or maybe the house elves. Do you trust them?”

 

Hermione nodded, “Enough to work with them for now.”

 

“I trust your judgment but I’ll be watching them carefully for both our sakes.”

 

Hermione recast the translation spell and turned back to Kyle. “We would be happy to show your representative what we can do. As to keeping our wands would you be satisfied with an armed escort along with our assistance with your wounded and repairs if you should request it?”

 

Kyle considered the two young adults. He was still furious at their lack of judgment but perhaps he had given too much weight to Emma’s arguments to have them summarily disarmed. They had helped the wounded and according to Doctor Jackson they had saved at least two lives. The risk of course was that he was wrong and these two represented a significant threat but if they could help at all. The unpleasant truth was that the Triton was still in bad shape even with the recently completed repairs. Could he turn away potential help?

 

“Ensign Paul will be my liaison with you. When moving about you will have a Marine escort at all times. You will refrain from using your abilities unless confronted with an emergency. For now I will allow you to continue working on your ship with Crewman Toll as long as you assist us to the best of your abilities. Is that understood?”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Daniel was relieved when Harry and Hermione returned to Life Stations even if they seemed to still have a Marine escort. He just hoped that they had heeded his advice. This still left him with a massive dilemma. What to do about One. It was likely only a matter of time before a Cylon fleet appeared if he was left free to work his madness. That said it was not like he had any resources to deal with him. He couldn’t run and leave Harry and Hermione here and he couldn’t warn the Colonials without putting himself at risk.

 

He hadn’t many answers but he fully expected that when he next spoke to Harry and Hermione that he would need to have some answers for them. 

 

“Daniel can I see you for a minute,” Daniel turned to see Doctor Jackson beckoning him toward his office.

 

Daniel nodded and entered the Doctor’s cluttered office,

 

The Doctor waved Daniel to a seat, “Please take a seat. Daniel before we start I just wanted to say that you have been a real asset here. For a ships medic you have excellent skills. You’re closer to a surgical nurse specialist. I’d recommend you without hesitation if you ever wanted to sign on permanently.”

 

“Thank you Doctor,” Daniel meant it to. Jackson was an excellent Doctor and what he was offering was if nothing else a huge compliment.

 

“You deserve the kudos and the offer. I also wanted to talk to you about what happened earlier,” Jackson waved his hand at the door. “I’ve already spoken to the nurses and I’d like to hear your version of events. I know you’ve chatted a little with our two mystery guests so I’m hoping you can give me another viewpoint.”

 

Daniel hesitated for a second unsure of what the Doctor was wanting. Was this some kind of security investigation or something less troublesome, “Is this an official investigation?”

 

Jackson waved away the question, “No, no I’m just trying to work out what actually occurred. I may not always show it but I was raised in quite a devout family. The only thing I can relate today’s events to would be some of the stories of Gods granted miracles. Like Asclepius granting prayers for the dying. Our two friends saved a man whose wounds were bad enough that I wouldn’t have given good odds even on my best day. I know Major Brack is sceptical but even he accepts it occurred. He had wanted me in the meeting with them but I was still treating a post operative patient.”

 

“I didn’t really see anything that could explain it. I saw Hermione and Harry using something…..to be honest Doctor I was rather busy at the time.” 

 

Jackson nodded, “Yes the nurse told me a rod of wood. Like the rod of Asclepius the healer. I….I find myself wondering could they be healers from one of the Temples. There had been rumours of Priests and Priestesses with the gift.”

 

“I don’t know Doctor. There are always those that speak of miracles,” Daniel offered.

 

Doctor Jackson nodded absently, “I was hoping you had seen something. Well if you remember anything else.”

 

“I’ll let you know Doctor,” Daniel promised, lying through his teeth.

 

“As I said I noticed you had a reasonable rapport with them, do you think you could ahhh broach the topic of a discussion with them?” Jackson gave Daniel a hopeful look.

 

“Again I’ll let you know Doctor.” Daniel managed a smile.

 

oOoOoOo

 

From her bed Rebeka was glaring at the two Marines outside the isolation room. “Why are they still under guard?” 

 

Chief Gray looked over at the Marines and then back to Rebeka. “The Major will do the right thing Bek, he will.”

 

Rebeka looked absolutely mutinous, “Chief does this look like the right fraking thing?”

 

“Bek you need to calm down. We’ll find out what is going on.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Outer CAP perimeter picket – Vipers of Lieutenant Eli ‘Whiplash’ Corven and Lieutenant Taran ‘Chaser’ Sul

 

Chaser thumbed his wireless, “Whiplash you seeing these debris?”

 

“Looks like a raptor foil,” offered Whiplash. “Someone had a bad fraking day out here.”

 

“Get it on tape and let’s report it in,” suggested Chaser.

 

“DRADIS contact, no IFF….no wait Colonial military. It’s faint, Triton…..you receiving this as well?”

 

“This is Triton actual we have the IFF you are to close and identify.”

 

Chaser acknowledged their orders, “Chaser Triton CAP will mark one eyeball the contact.”

 

“Nothing on any wireless channels,” reported Whiplash. 

 

The two Vipers closed rapidly on the slow moving contact. Once in visual range they slowed and made a pass on either side of the drifting ship. 

 

Chaser thumbed his wireless on as he activated his camera, “Triton the ship is a long range military shuttle. Looks like it is mostly intact save the fact it is hulled aft in several places......the engineering spaces are exposed. I can see internal bulkheads. Wait there is something." Chaser could see something moving in the darkened windows. Pulling back on his controls he bought his Viper to a stop. "Frak....Triton I can see movement in the.....there is someone signalling to me. Repeat I have a survivor signalling to me."

 

“Acknowledged Chaser a SAR Raptor is being readied now, hold position and continue trying to detect any communications.”

 

Chaser shook his head in wonder. Whoever was alive on board the shuttle was the luckiest bastard in the fleet. “Whiplash I’m going to try signal lights. Keep an eye out for our friend.”

 

“Will do Chaser, how do you think they survived?” 

 

“No idea, gods must love them I...oh hold on I’m going in closer something is happening. Triton we may have more than one survivor here.”

 

“Acknowledged Raptor thirty-two is en-route.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

SAR Raptor 32 – Lieutenant Nikki “Flash’ Corinth/ECO Petra ‘Red’ Nicosia

 

Flash lined her hatch up with the docking hatch of the shuttle before activating the universal docking collar. “Triton this is Flash. I have a seal. Marines are about to ring their bell.”

 

“Acknowledged Flash, take all necessary precautions.”

 

“Red open our hatch for the Marines,” ordered Flash.

 

The three Marines were now in the docking collar with the junior member carrying a heavy rubber mallet. Three raps later and they received three muffled bangs in return a moment later the hatch unsealed. 

 

Red consulted her instruments for a moment considering what the shuttles airlock was recording. “Okay we have air pressure in the shuttle. It may be a bit stale but it’s breathable. You are good to go Corporal.”

 

The Marine corporal saluted and turned to his two men. “Thanks Sir. Okay let’s go easy here. We don’t have a clue what’s happening on the other side of the hatch so lets be fraking careful, understood.”

 

A moment later the hatch of the shuttle opened completely revealing the darkened interior of the shuttle just inside the door a single figure could be seen. She had both hands raised even as the Marines stepped through the hatch. The woman was in a military flight suit. 

 

“Thank the Gods I thought we were alone out here.”

 

The Marine corporal nodded, “Are you injured Ma’am?”

 

The pilot shook her head, “No Corporal but the Colonel can’t walk I think he broke his ankle when we were hit.”

 

The Corporal’s eyes widened slightly, “Where is the Colonel located?”

 

“Right here Corporal,” the Marine’s all turned to see a Colonial Marine officer leaning against the bulkhead. “I’m a bit banged up but I had to see. What ship Corporal?”

 

The Corporal saluted, “The Triton Sir.”

 

The Colonel shook his head, “Right well we can sort this out later for now let’s get off this floating wreck before we suffocate. Lieutenant, take the Marines and get our prisoner. Make damn sure she is restrained.”

 

oOoOoOo

Triton – Hanger Deck

 

Kyle, Emma, two medics and a Marine honour guard were waiting as Raptor 32’s hatch lowered.

 

Seeing the Colonel being supported by a Lieutenant he stepped forward and saluted. “Major Kyle Brack acting commander of the Triton, welcome aboard sir.”

 

The Colonel returned the salute, “Colonel Richard Sparta Colonial Marines, permission to come aboard?”

 

The two medics moved forward pushing a wheel chair and the Colonel sank in to it with a grateful look. “Thank you son, Major we need to talk privately before anything else happens.”

 

Kyle nodded and gestured toward the pilots briefing room. ‘We should have some privacy there sir.”

 

“Good Major I need an armed guard on the Raptor until we’ve spoken,” seeing Kyle’s look he smiled grimly. ‘Believe me Major it is very necessary.”

 

Bu the time Kyle wheeled the Colonel to the Briefing room six marines had the Raptor surrounded.

 

As soon as the door closed the Colonel was talking.

 

“Major I headed up the Marine operations staff for Rear Admiral Ross of joint operations. I was a Marine first and a politician second. So let me assure you I have no intention of taking over your command. You command Triton and I’ll stick to what I know planning. When the Cylon attack came I was on Caprica observing a Marine training mission. Thanks to those Marines I was able to get off planet in a long range shuttle. I had been hoping to meet with other fleet elements when we counter attacked. Unfortunately by the time we fought our way through the toasters and got airborne the fight was over. When a baseship jumped in right on top of us I thought we were done then somehow Lieutenant Helios managed to jump us just as a missile hit. Gods know how we survived but we did.” Sparta rubbed at his face his tiredness very evident on his face. “Anyway that’s not important right now. What is important is the prisoner we have aboard. In our fight we captured the Cylon leading the centurions.”

 

Kyle nearly exclaimed out loud. They had a Cylon prisoner?

 

The Colonel laughed grimly, “Oh there’s no Centurion in the shuttle Major. No it’s far fraking worse. The Cylons have a new model if you like. They look human.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Life Stations - Triton

 

Kyle couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The blond woman secured to the bed to allow Doctor Jackson to treat her in the Life Stations isolation room looked like a model. “Dear Zeus she looks……she looks human. How in the name of the Gods have they done this?”

 

“No idea first time we saw her I thought she was a traitor. But she isn’t human she killed a Marine’s with a punch. She got thrown in to a wall when an explosion went off so we took a chance and took her with us. I thought she might make a good hostage after we interrogated her.”

 

“We should kill it,” said Emma. “Who knows what it can do.”

 

Kyle shook his head, “It is a prisoner and protected under the Colonial military code. To execute a prisoner we need a military court and a trial, to do that we need a rear Admiral or a civilian judge.”

 

“With all due respect Sir it is a fraking machine,” argued Emma with a look of disgust on her face.

 

Colonel Sparta gestured toward Kyle, “The Major is right Lieutenant. I’m not saying we won’t be executing the prisoner down the line. But for now we treat it, her, whatever she is as a captured enemy combatant. You never know when we might need a bargaining chip. Now what’s the story with your two other guests?”

 

Kyle turned away from the unconscious ‘Cylon’. “That Sir is a long story.”

 

Sparta looked around at the two isolation rooms only a medic and the Marines were in sight, “The short version then.”

 

Twenty minutes later Sparta leaned back in his chair with a calculating look on his face. “I understand your position Major but I think you are looking at this the wrong way. We have for all intents and purposes just lost a war against an enemy whom now controls nearly all our resources. Perhaps others have survived maybe even other Battlestars but it won’t be enough. How will we replace lost ships, how long can we patch together Vipers and Raptor’s before we run out of parts? I don’t care what they are; I don’t care where they came from. I do care that they have offered to help and you should to. If they can do a tenth of what you suspect then they will be an invaluable asset to our cause.”

 

As the officers left nobody noticed a pale faced Daniel standing in the corner.

 

oOoOoOo

 

Crew and Passengers of the Battlestar Triton

Commanding Officer: Major Kyle Brack  
2IC: Lieutenant Emma Boyd  
Acting CAG/Raptor Squadron Leader: Hector ‘Smash’ Golan  
Doctor Stephen Jackson – CMO Triton  
Lieutenant Aren Callet – Acting Tactical Officer  
Junior Lieutenant Scott Barrington – Navigation officer  
Ensign Sarah Paul – Communications Specialist/Linguist 

Sergeant Major Richards – Senior surviving NCO – Triton Marine detachment

Daniel Erikson – Medic/Chef crewman from the Athena’s Bow

Chief Petty Officer Markus Gray – Deck Crew Chief  
Rebeka Toll – Crewman - Engineer  
Petty Officer Sarah Nova – Engineer Avionics Specialist 

Lieutenant Erin “Whisper” Shaw  
Lieutenant Mikhael 'Gorgon' Hobbin  
Lieutenant Amanda ‘Skimmer’ Collis ECO  
Lieutenant Eli ‘Whiplash’ Corven  
Lieutenant Taran ‘Chaser’ Sul


	5. Chapter 5

Gods Among Us - A Harry Potter and Battlestar Galactica crossover

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

 

Last time:

 

Twenty minutes later Sparta leaned back in his chair with a calculating look on his face. “I understand your position Major but I think you are looking at this the wrong way. We have for all intents and purposes just lost a war against an enemy whom now controls nearly all our resources. Perhaps others have survived maybe even other Battlestars but it won’t be enough. How will we replace lost ships, how long can we patch together Vipers and Raptor’s before we run out of parts? I don’t care what they are; I don’t care where they came from. I do care that they have offered to help and you should to. If they can do a tenth of what you suspect then they will be an invaluable asset to our cause.”

 

As the officers left nobody noticed a pale faced Daniel standing in the corner.

 

Chapter 5

Triton – Life Stations

 

The Marine saluted from the open hatch, “Colonel Sparta, Harry and Hermione are here.”

 

Richard waved to the Corporal, “Send them in son.”

 

The Marine saluted and stepped aside to let Harry and Hermione enter. 

 

“That will be all Corporal,” said Richard.

 

With a nod the Marine pulled the hatch closed.

 

Richard waved to the two comfortable seats at the low table then to the cast on his leg. “Please take a seat and excuse me for not rising to greet you.” 

 

Hermione gestured at the inflatable cast on Richards’s leg, “Are you in pain?” 

 

Richard shook his head, “Not at the moment Miss Granger. Did Major Brack explain why I wanted to meet with you?”

 

“Not entirely just that you were a senior military officer and you had a proposal.”

 

“Well before I get in to that I would like to offer you both an apology. Regardless of the circumstances your treatment was out of line. The good Major has been under a lot of stress but that doesn’t excuse his actions. I’m asking if we can move past it.”

 

Hermione nodded and after a moment Harry also gave a slow nod.

 

“Thank you both. I realise that it will take a while to build some trust between us.”

 

“What are you offering?” Harry asked.

 

Richard leaned forward slightly as he explained his offer, “That depends entirely on you. I am willing to move you to normal quarters and remove the escorts. We’ll just leave you with a liaison to make sure we avoid any more misunderstandings. In return I’d like to put you to work doing whatever you are most comfortable with.” 

 

Hermione frowned as she considered Richard’s words. “I’m sorry what do you think we can do to help?”

 

Richard fought down the urge to smiling. Hermione was smart but she wasn’t used to this type of negotiation. He had her pinned as an academic, a knowledge seeker. She was analysing what he was saying. 

 

“And why should we?” Harry asked. “Your apology not withstanding something tells me that there is a lot going on here that we don’t understand. Maybe we should just go our own way.”

 

If Hermione was an academic then Harry was a warrior. He was wary of any action that might be a trap. “Harry I don’t think you need me to tell you why that is a bad idea. From what I can determine the Cylons have begun a war of extermination. Where would you go? The Colonies are all but finished. Our entire infrastructure has been destroyed. If humanity is to survive we need to work together and put aside the irrelevant. Right now I don’t care where you came from but I do care that you have abilities that could be critical to our survival. Abilities that I suspect we have not yet seen at their full potential. Even if all you are willing to offer is your healing abilities, such aid is of immense value to the crew. Our material resources are limited and while I hope that there are other survivors out there. I fear that long term, the future is bleak. Let’s say we run across a half dozen ships. Each person saved is another mouth to feed. More medical supplies will be needed. Will our enemy allow us respite to grow crops for food and medicine, mine for fuel?”

 

Hermione looked over at Harry who slowly, almost resignedly nodded.

 

“We will help but first we need to know where our abilities will be of the most use. Our home was…..used less technology. So we are not all that familiar with how the ship works. Rebeka explained some things to us but that doesn’t mean I’m qualified to start poking around critical systems.”

 

Richard gave Hermione a small smile, “I’m sure Rebeka or another of the engineers would be happy to work with you. I know the good doctor wishes to speak to you.”

 

Hermione frowned again, “You realise that we won’t be able to solve all your problems don’t you. Our abilities are fairly…..flexible but we are not able to do everything. I thought it best to say so up front. I’m also leery of being used as a weapon. I understand the basics of your conflict but that does not mean that I’m going to start killing Cylons willy-nilly.”

 

Richard fought down his immediate reaction to Hermione’s words. Oh he had expected them to put some conditions on their cooperation but the blasé mention of killing Cylons implied they thought they could. Were they that powerful? Clearing his throat he nodded, “I understand and if you feel that we are unreasonable in our requests please see me immediately.”

 

Harry reached over and shook Richard’s hand. “Very well we have a deal.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Harry and Hermione’s Cabin 

 

“Well it’s……cosy.”

 

Harry smiled as Hermione’s unenthusiastic attempt to find something good about the room. “At least there are two bunks so we don’t have to squeeze in to a single bed and it looks like they’ve found us some spare clothes.”

 

Hermione huffed as she stuck her head in to the small single shower and toilet. “I’m half tempted to cast a few space expansion charms.”

 

“Would it work?” asked Harry.

 

“Maybe but we may not want to start mucking around with them on a space ship.”

 

“True…..Hermione are you okay with….well with everything?”

 

“No, I’m far from okay Harry. Things are getting complicated and the only person I trust is just as far out of his comfort zone as I am.” 

 

“I wanted to ask you something, something personal.”

 

Hermione turned away from the bathroom to face Harry, “Of course you can ask me anything.”

 

“Back on the ship before we tried to get home why did you say you loved me?”

 

Harry watched as Hermione’s mouth opened and closed a few times and a touch of pink appeared in her cheeks. “We were in a perilous situation. We could have been killed and I….I wanted you to know you are my best friend.”

 

“Oh,” was all Harry managed to articulate but his face showed his disappointment. 

 

“Harry you….are you disappointed?” Hermione moved a step closer.

 

“No it's just that I....I had wondered if well you know."

 

"Know what Harry?"

 

Harry was slowly turning pink. After a moment he seemed to summon his Gryffindor courage. "I just wish I had said I loved you back. You are my best friend and I don't want that to change."

 

Hermione was about to assure him of her friendship when she realised what he had said. "You love me?"

 

Harry seemed about to ramble again when Hermione raised a hand to stop him, "Yes or no Harry."

 

"Yes," replied Harry his voice just above a whisper.

 

Showing why she had been a Gryffindor Hermione pulled Harry closer and kissed him. It wasn't sisterly in the least and by the time they separated both were rather breathless. 

 

Hermione was the first to recover her senses, “Mmmmm Harry?”

 

Harry’s expression indicated that he was still rather surprised by their kiss. Before Hermione could say anything he smiled and captured her lips again as his hands went around her waist. As he deepened the kiss Hermione found that she was moulding her body to Harry’s in an attempt to get closer. After a long moment Harry pulled his lips away leaving them both with their pulses racing.

 

“Mmmmm indeed,” said Harry with a lopsided smile.

 

The rational, logical part of Hermione that thought out consequences and considered tomorrow was being drowned out by the much more instinctual part. She was with a man she had loved since she was eleven. A man she had considered her best friend. He had defended her and she had bled for him. Was this right, dare she expose herself to his rejection?

 

Her dilemma was solved when Harry pulled her close again. One hand caressed her hip as the other stroked her back encouraging her to once more capture his lips. Again she found herself breathless as she tried to continue the kiss. Harry once more began to pull away but she wasn’t going to allow that. Stepping forward she pushed causing Harry to lose balance and fall backwards on to the bunk. Hermione followed although she quickly moved to straddle his hips.

 

“Hermione we should…” Harry trailed off as Hermione pulled her t-shirt over her head. Harry had seen Hermione partially dressed before. He’d even seen her in a bikini but he had never seen her like this. Her skin was flushed and her eyes were now locked on to his as she unhooked her bra and threw it heedlessly to the floor. 

 

Once more Hermione captured his lips with her own as Harry’s hands stroked her back and side caressing her soft skin. In return her hands slipped under his shirt to feel his flat stomach and then his chest.

 

Harry managed to break away from her kisses for a moment, “Is this what you ….want Hermione?”

 

“God yes Harry believe me I’m sure I want this.” 

 

Hermione ran her fingertips over Harry stomach before she leaned down to kiss Harry’s chest. The bunk was narrow but somehow Harry managed to flip Hermione over on to her back. Before she could protest she found Harry’s lips on her throat kissing her pulse point.

 

Harry felt Hermione shudder beneath him as a moan escaped her. With a smile he kissed his way down her body making sure to avoid her breasts. She seemed to realise his game and arched her back trying to encourage his wandering touch. 

 

The knock on the door was loud and quickly repeated.

 

“Bloody shite,” complained Harry as he stood levered himself to his feet. Giving Hermione a quick kiss he pulled the blanket up over her. “I’ll try to hurry.”

 

Harry pulled the door open to see Rebeka Toll.

 

“Hello Harry I needed to see you and Hermione about tomorrow. Have you got a few moments? The chief wanted me to take you through some spec’s.””

 

“I’ll jump in the shower,” said Hermione.

 

Harry waited until the shower door closed before he opened the door to let Rebeka in.

 

Rebeka looked around the room, “I’m not interrupting anything am I?”

 

Harry suppressed a sigh, “No of course not. Please come in.”

 

As he turned away he failed to see Rebeka’s smile.

 

oOoOoOo

 

Life Stations – Doctor’s Office

 

“Thank you for agreeing to meet with me Hermione.” Doctor Jackson was finding it difficult not to stare at the young woman sitting opposite him.

 

Hermione gave the Doctor a warm smile, “My pleasure Doctor. Harry and I owe you for the fine medical treatment we received.”

 

The doctor shook his head as if warding off her thanks. “I was just doing my job. I appreciate commands concerns about your abilities but speaking for myself I am fascinated. I saw some of your work, it was as if the injuries had never happened.”

 

“Harry and I were lucky that they were injuries we could fix. Not every injury can be treated with the spells we know. Our people have specialist healers for just that reason.”

 

Doctor Jackson smiled wryly, “So I’m still employable?”

 

“Merlin yes, Harry and I are not trainer healers. It is entirely possible that we could hurt a patient with a healing spell used incorrectly. I think that our best bet would be to work together on finding a way to use the best of both our worlds.”

 

Doctor Jackson pulled out a note pad and pen, “If you don’t mind would I be able to ask a few questions?”

 

An hour later Hermione felt mentally exhausted as she followed Doctor Jackson. The older man led her across Life Stations to the bedside of a young woman who had been brought in with a severe concussion and a long jagged cut running from her eye to her neck. While not in any medical danger she had been distraught about the scaring. 

 

The idea was for Doctor Jackson to see and monitor her using her abilities. Both he and Hermione had agreed that that it was best that they conducted the test on a non-life threatening injury. 

 

Doctor Jackson lifted the woman’s chart off the end of the bed and checked her observations. Her temperature was still low so it looked like they had managed to stave off infection. “Hello Moira how are you feeling?”

 

Moira shrugged, “It doesn’t hurt so much today Doctor.”

 

“I’d like you to meet someone Moira. This is Hermione she is a healer who thinks she can help reduce some of the scaring. There are no guarantees but I am confident she will be able to give you a significant improvement.”

 

Moira considered Hermione, “She’s a bit young to be a Doctor isn’t she?”

 

“Hermione is a specialist. Now Moira we are going to treat your scar with a new therapy today so we are going to give you a mild sedative so you don’t move around too much and then some dark goggles to protect your eyes. Do you understand?”

 

Moira nodded and Doctor Jackson sedated the young woman. After five minutes he checked to confirm Moira was under. He quickly set up a number of pieces of equipment to monitor her while Hermione healed her.

 

“Right she is ready, “reported Doctor Jackson as he moved to the opposite side of the bed.

 

Hermione drew her wand and pointed it at Moira’s injury. “Okay our magic is basically a genetic ability but there are often verbal or somatic components. In this case I need to visualise what I want to achieve then I simply concentrate and cast the spell.” She cast a healing spell and the healing skin seemed to ripple as the torn skin closed over leaving pink skin behind. When Hermione lowered her wand Doctor Jackson was immediately leaning down to scrutinise the new skin.

 

“Amazing, simply amazing I knew you could heal injuries but that simple procedure has produced a better result than a top notch surgeon. Hermione I…..can you teach me this?”

 

Hermione had seen this question coming for the last hour, “I’m sorry Stephen but the ability is one that you are born with. Even someone who never harnesses their ability still has the capability. Unfortunately the opposite also applies.” 

 

The doctor looked a tad crestfallen for a minute before his demeanour changed, “Ah well not to be. Now Miss Granger I’d like to ask you about something you mentioned earlier. ‘He quickly flipped through his notes. “Ah yes diagnostic spells.”

 

oOoOoOo

Triton - Hanger Deck

 

Harry watched over the Chief’s shoulder as he walked through the different systems of a Mark IV Viper.

 

As soon as he finished Harry looked down at his notes in frustration. “Chief I know I sound like an idiot but I am totally lost.”

 

Chief Gray scratched his chin for a moment before answering, “Have you ever done any technical training?”

 

Harry shook his head, “No Chief but….well I think I need to show you something.” Looking around Harry spotted a ceramic mug sitting on top of a plastic crate. Grabbing the empty mug he gestured toward a collection of replacement parts waiting to be fitted to the Vipers. Both men walked to a clear area behind the large pile. A quick glance told Harry that no one was paying particular attention to their presence. 

 

“What is it Harry?”

 

Harry dropped the mug which shattered in to pieces. Then he pointed his wand at the largest piece, “Reparo.”

 

The Engineering Chief watched in awe as the individual pieces reformed in to an undamaged mug before reaching down to pick it up. “Frak…..I mean Frak…what can you repair like that?”

 

“Just about anything as long as I can picture what is supposed to look like of have a duplicate to match it against.”

 

Chief Gray considered the explanation for a moment before a wide smile appeared on his face. “We’ve been going around this the wrong way lad. How about you and I grab a drink and work out just what you can do.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Triton - Life Stations

 

“Do you have a minute?” 

 

Hermione looked up to see Daniel standing outside one of the storerooms, “Daniel, of course.”

 

Daniel held the door and pushed it closed when Hermione entered.

 

“What is it?” 

 

Daniel took a deep breath before replying, “Hermione you are in great danger.”

 

“So you alluded before but you didn’t elaborate.” 

 

Daniel looked around as if checking they were alone in the supply cupboard. “Not here. Bring Harry to my cabin tonight and I’ll explain. Until then stay away from the prisoner in the isolation room and try to keep away from any civilians in the fleet.”

 

“What the hell is this about?”

 

“Tonight Hermione,” replied Daniel as he grabbed a sealed treatment kit and left the room.

 

By the time she had followed Daniel out of the store room he was nowhere in sight.

 

oOoOoOo

 

Triton - Commander’s Cabin

 

Kyle poured a cup of Herbal tea for himself as the last of his command team arrived in his office. The others already at the table were either drinking tea or indulging in some of the reconstituted juice supplied to the ship from the supplies aboard the Priestess. Taking a welcome sip of his tea he climbed to his feet.

 

“Okay settle down everyone we have a good deal to get through and I know we all have things still on our to do lists, Colonel?”

 

Colonel Sparta waved the Major back to his seat, “Thank you Major. Now I don’t want to take over the meeting but I did want to get a few things out of the way. Firstly I would like all of you to prepare a list of crew who you think deserve to be promoted with field commissions. We need more junior officers, chiefs and warrants. So as the most senior officer not in the chain of command I am going to enact General Order 3489 to bypass years in service and academy training.”

 

That caused a few heads to turn and looks to be exchanged. It was rare for any Colonial to be given a field commission to officer rank from enlisted but General Order 3489 would give the Colonel the ability to do so.

 

“Second, I want to know how our newest allies are going with their new postings, Lieutenant Dontas?”

 

Lieutenant Richard Dontas leaned forward, “Sir the engineering officer Banks from the Athena’s Bow has been an absolute champion. He worked in a shipyard so he’s effectively taken over the machine shop which was one of my headaches given my specialty is FTL systems. I’ll let Chief Gray walk you through the Hanger Deck.”

 

A very nervous looking Chief Gray cleared his throat, “Sirs we have most core and critical systems repaired and online. Our combat squadrons are now at eighty percent and we should have that at ninety in seventy-two hours.”

 

Hector ‘Smash’ Golan raised an eyebrow in surprise, “That soon chief? That’s pretty quick.”

 

Chief Gray smirked, “Sir you should see what my new man can do.”

 

“You are talking about Harry I presume?” asked Richard Sparta.

 

Chief Grey nodded, “Yes Sir. His ability to repair objects is….well it is magic. Three hours’ work done in seconds and the repaired item is just like it’s come out of the factory paint and all.”

 

“Dear Gods,” whispered Emma Boyd.

 

Kyle frowned, “Have we tested the parts Chief?”

 

“Yes Sir we have. They are perfect. I realise that there is a bit of a question mark over the two of them but his help has been invaluable. With respect Sir we would be mad if we didn’t get both of them involved in ship wide repairs.”

 

“Given the nature of their abilities there are…concerns Chief,” replied Kyle.

 

“We’re being discreet Sir though I’m not sure how long before others beside Crewman Toll put two and two together.”

 

Kyle looked to Colonel Sparta who nodded, “Very well Chief keep up the good work, Doctor Jackson?”

 

Doctor Jackson looked up from his notes, “Major I am very pleased with Miss Granger’s abilities and their potential to save lives. Here have a look at these.” The Doctor slid two photos toward Kyle and Richard Sparta. “This is a before and after shot taken of one of my patients from the Priestess taken before and after Miss Granger treated her. Please note the absence of any scaring.”

 

The photos were passed around the table with most of the officers left astonished.

 

Richard Sparta set the photos aside, “I’m glad to see she has jumped right in Doctor. Where there any issues around her discretion?”

 

“None whatsoever Miss Granger is frighteningly intelligent and compassionate individual. She is an academic at heart which is something I recognise and respect my brother is just the same. I have no qualms regarding her service in Life Stations.” 

 

Richard Sparta turned to the rest of the officers, “Thank you Doctor. Does anyone else have anything to add on this issue? I want to know what you are thinking.”

 

“Permission to speak freely Sir?” asked Emma.

 

Richard Sparta nodded.

 

“I think it is a mistake to give them free access to the ship. For all we know they could be Cylons. We know they can now take human form.”

 

Richard nodded slowly, “I understand your concerns Lieutenant but I want everyone here to be clear regarding my orders. Harry and Hermione are potentially invaluable assets regardless of their origins. I frankly couldn’t care less where they came from. Hades they could be from outside the colonies or from Kobol. What matters is that we have an opportunity here. Consider what it would mean if there were more like them, what if we had a thousand like them or ten thousand? If we can sway them to our cause it would be a boon beyond measure. Yes there were misunderstandings but I think we have moved past that, I hope. A little thing like giving them private quarters and a bit of freedom is small payment for the lives they saved.”

 

Kyle raised an eyebrow, “Do you think it is possible they may….Gods I can’t believe I’m saying this but is it possible that they are aliens?”

 

Doctor Jackson shook his head emphatically, “As far as I can tell they are human. Their blood work confirmed that.”

 

Richard Sparta gave the Doctor a look of thanks, “I’m not advocating that we give them a shift in CIC any time soon but for now we have to show trust to receive it.” 

 

Nods came from around the table.

 

“Right if there are no other comments? Major perhaps we can move on.”

 

Kyle nodded, “Okay next is supplies how are we looking now Emma?”

 

“Sir we have the supplies donated from the Priestess squared away along with the frozen stores we have supplies for four months before we need to worry about resupply. Water is a slightly better estimate of perhaps six with rationing. Fuel wise we have enough for maybe three months of combat operations. More if we are careful. After that we need to start looking for ways to mine asteroids.”

 

Kyle knew most of the information but it was important for the others to hear the facts of their situation, “Thank you Emma. Okay so that is our situation I want ideas for the next meeting. Next on the agenda is tactical. Aren what do we know?”

 

Aren looked down at his notes, “Sir we have been analysing what we do know to try and put together some sort of strategic picture. At this stage it is looking….well it’s looking pretty bleak. The captain of the Priestess reported nuclear strikes as well as a ground based assault. Our worst case scenario is that this method was used on each of the twelve colonies. It is of course possible if not likely that other fleet elements have survived but we lack any method of determining the status of those elements. The only reports we have of substance is the reported message sent by the Galactica for a rendezvous at Ragnar Anchorage and the report of a small fleet of military ships turned pirate.”

 

“Adama is a resourceful, seasoned officer if anyone could find a way to survive it would be him,” said Richard Sparta.

 

“There will be civilian ships that got out of system before or during the attack. We haven’t any real way of verifying their location or course.”

 

“We may need to start flying some scouting missions not just CAP pickets to see if we can find any survivors. Lieutenant Barrington I want you to work with Aren and put together a search grid. When we jump we are going to have to search as well as we are able to locate any colonial ships.” Kyle paused and glanced once more at Colonel Sparta. “The other area we need to work on is intelligence. We know the Cylons are out there and I’m betting they are looking for any surviving fleet elements.”

 

Richard cleared his throat softly, “Major she is a prisoner of war.”

 

Kyle tried to avoid taking an insubordinate tone, “Understood but surely the law allows us to interrogate a prisoner?”

 

Richard considered the younger man for a long moment before nodding, “Very well we’ll question her together tonight. I’ll leave the security details to you.”

oOoOoOo

 

Triton - Daniel’s Quarters

 

“You wanted to see us?” asked Harry as he and Hermione settle on to the small bunk opposite the seated Daniel.

 

Daniel looked around the bare room seeking inspiration. “Hermione, Harry I need to tell you something. I hope…..well I hope you can understand.”

 

Hermione leaned forward, “What is it Daniel?”

 

“There is a humanoid Cylon infiltrator on board the Priestess. The crew needs to know before he carries out whatever twisted plans he had devised or worse he finds out about you.”

 

“So what does this all mean?” Harry asked.

 

Hermione however was studying Daniel with a puzzled look on her face. “How do you know? I mean you were aboard your ship when the Cylons attacked and no one aboard the Triton knew that the Cylons looked human."

 

“I am a Cylon.”

 

Harry started to draw his wand when Hermione grabbed his hand. “Wait, Daniel why tell us? I mean you seem to be a decent man but these are your people."

 

Daniel shook his head, "I am a Cylon but they are as much a threat to me as they are to you. I.....I need to explain, please?"

 

Hermione nodded and let go of Harry's hand as he released his wand.

 

"Thank you. I know that you are aware of the first war between the Cylons and the colonies but I think you need to understand what happened at the end of the war. It was a stalemate that didn’t look like ending anytime soon. Then the Cylons were contacted by an earlier generation of humanoid Cylons from Earth. I don’t know all that happened but in exchange for the Centurions ending the first Cylon War they developed Humanoid Cylons and gifted us with resurrection technology. From what little I know they were the descendants of Cylons created by humans on Kobol thousands of years ago.”

 

Hermione quickly interrupted with a question as Daniel paused, “Kobol?” 

 

“The ancient homeworld of humanity and apparently of Cylons, They claimed that they were the Thirteenth Tribe that left Kobol and settled Earth,” explained Daniel before continuing. “When the colonials recreated Cylons they unwittingly began anew what had already happened before. These ancient Cylons were disgusted by the war and after the Armistice was declared they led us in to unknown space and created eight humanoid models. I was the seventh. The Cylon on the Priestess is a one. The Cylon sedated in Life Stations is a six. Both of them are incredibly dangerous. Even if the Colonials kill them odds are that they will simply resurrect and report our position.”

 

Hermione paled as she considered the Cylon seated opposite, “Dear God Daniel, I don’t know what to say.”

 

“Why are they dangerous to you, I mean shouldn’t they be welcoming you with open arms?” asked Harry.

 

Daniel slowly shook his head as a pained expression twisted his features. “My entire line was destroyed and I suspect that One was responsible. He and I were opposed as to what to do about the threat Humanity supposedly represented. My mother Ellen ….my creator and the other elders were arguing that we should either seek our own path or reconnect with humanity. One wanted war…..he lied to the others and began to tamper with their memories when they downloaded. I caught him designing implants to prevent the non-humanoid Cylons from exercising full self-awareness. The fraking son of a bitch was going to lobotomise our brothers. I argued with him and he shot me. When I downloaded on the resurrection ship I fled before he could have me killed again. I tried to warn the others, I even tried to warn my few copies but I was too slow. One eliminated all four of my brother Seven’s. I don’t doubt that if I was killed now I would not resurrect.”

 

“I’m so sorry Daniel,” said Hermione as she reached over to take his hand. “It sounds like you tried to do the right thing for your people and you have paid a terrible price. I don’t envy you your choices.”

 

Daniel shrugged, “My choice was to be a coward, run and hide. I hoped that the war would never happen but I think deep down….I knew and I didn’t warn anyone. What does that make me?”

 

“Human,” whispered Hermione as she gave his hand a squeeze.

 

“If One finds out that you are from Earth he’ll probably kill you. I’m also worried what the Colonials will do. I fear that they would see Earth as a haven from the Cylon, a last refuge with the lost Thirteenth Tribe.”

 

“And the Cylons would follow,” continued Harry. “I may not be a history wiz like Hermione but I’m pretty sure there is solid evidence that humans evolved on Earth. Wouldn’t that make the story that the Cylon Thirteenth colony was on Earth a bit shaky?”

 

Daniel shrugged, “I don’t think any evidence you could present will dissuade One.”

 

“So what will we do?” asked Harry. “Who do we tell?” 

 

Hermione looked back and forth between Daniel and Harry, “Should we go to the Colonel, he seems more reasonable.”

 

“I’m not too sure about that but then again what over option do we have?” Harry asked in a frustrated tone of voice. “Ever since we arrived where ever the hell this is we have been looked on with suspicion. Sparta seems like he has decided to use us and his carrot is that we get to have a few more freedoms. The stick is of course that we go back to being prisoners.”

 

“We can’t do nothing Harry,” retorted Hermione. “Only the three of us are in a position to warn the Colonials. So let’s do just that we go to Sparta and we tell him. If he reacts poorly then we do a memory charm. Leave a written warning and steal a ship or whatever we need to do to get away.” 

 

“If it comes to that I could fly a Raptor. I’m sure we could pull it off but where would we go?” Daniel asked a bit skeptically.

 

“And would we want to leave our ship behind? It could be our only way home.”

 

Hermione bit her lip as she considered Harry’s point. “You are right we need the ship, Daniel could a Raptor tow it and still jump?”


	6. Chapter 6

Gods among us - A Harry Potter and Battlestar Galactica crossover

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

 

Last time:

“If it comes to that I could fly a Raptor. I’m sure we could pull it off but where would we go?” Daniel asked a bit sceptically.

 

“And would we want to leave our ship behind? It could be our only way home.”

 

Hermione bit her lip as she considered Harry’s point. “You are right we need the ship, Daniel could a Raptor tow it and still jump?”

 

Chapter 6

Triton - Colonel Sparta’s Cabin

 

Richard looked up from his notes as a corporal knocked and then stuck his head in to the room. “What is it Corporal?”

 

“Miss Granger, Mister Potter and ahh Medic Erikson are here asking to see you sir. They say it is urgent.”

 

Richard paused for a moment considering before nodding to the Corporal, “Send them in.”

 

A warning light went off in Richard’s head as all three were escorted in. Hermione and Harry wore serious expressions and the medic with them was visibly nervous.

 

“What can I do for you?”

 

Hermione didn’t waste any time, “We have….discovered some sensitive information we believe you should know.”

 

Richard waved for the Marine to leave the room. “Please take a seat and let’s hear it.”

 

He was surprised when Hermione turned to the Medic Daniel. By the time Daniel had finished his own face had become an expressionless mask.

 

“That is quite a story son.”

 

Daniel’s reply was a polite but firm, “It is the truth Colonel.” 

 

Harry had watched Daniel explain with his wand clutched in his hand. He was determined not to let either party come to blows. He glanced over to Hermione to see that she too had her wand in her hand.

 

Richard leaned back in his chair, “You say this One is the instigator of the renewed hostilities and he is here right now?”

 

“A copy of him,” clarified Daniel.

 

“Frak so this One could be sending reports back to the Cylons every time we jump and if we do capture him the bastard can simply off himself and he’s back reporting to the fleet.”

 

Daniel nodded, “Potentially yes although without knowing if a resurrection ship is in range he may be somewhat disinclined toward being killed.”

 

All three men turned to Hermione when she made a noise that was almost a gasp. 

 

Harry moved one step closer, “Hermione?”

 

“We could memory charm One and Six and dump then somewhere no the wiser.”

 

“Would it work?” asked Harry.

 

Hermione nodded, “It should but we could always test it on Daniel first.”

 

“Hold on,” began Daniel.

 

“I’m talking about a minute or two’s memories. I know I’ll tell you something and then erase the memory,” suggested Hermione. “It is an elegant solution if we do need to dump out two Cylons on some asteroid somewhere.”

 

Richard raised an eyebrow. “Why not just shove them out an airlock. It is not like we are actually killing them. Not if they just download.”

 

Hermione shook her head, “If we do that we are as bad as One. Long term a more…clement policy might give you some sort of advantage later.”

 

“Regardless of the ethical debate he can’t be left free in the fleet,” Richard turned back to Daniel. “Daniel you never said why you disagreed with your people.”

 

“Two wrongs don’t make a right Colonel. What the Colonies did to the Cylons once they gained sentience was wrong. The first war was a tragedy but this……this is like spitting in the face of God, it’s blasphemous. Our belief is that we are the children of humanity. Somehow One has twisted that belief in to some twisted need to destroy you. It saddens me that my brothers and sisters have been as foolish as to follow him down this path.”

 

Richard Sparta found himself believing the Cylon….no believing Daniel. He didn’t trust him and he certainly would need to be watched carefully but his words rang true. “What do you suggest we do?”

 

Daniel’s shoulders straightened as he replied. “Get rid of him and the Six they pose a significant threat to every person on the ship. Interrogate him if you have to but remember he’ll lie, he’ll taunt you and provoke you. He wants you to kill him. Six is different she’s religious, a true believer in God. If she believes in One’s plans she’ll tell you nothing.”

 

Richard looked over at Hermione, “Do you think your memory charm will work?”

 

“Let’s test it,” Hermione walked over to Daniel and kissed him on the cheek.

 

“Hermione what are you….”

 

“Obliviate,” Hermione lowered her wand as Daniel looked confused for a moment before focusing on Hermione obviously puzzled by her unexpected proximity.

 

“What….what just happened?”

 

“Daniel what is the last thing you remember?” asked Hermione.

 

“You said let’s test it then……..it’s like a blank spot on my memory. Like a long blink.” Daniel gave Hermione a puzzled look. “Did you already do it?”

 

“I’d say that is a positive test,” said Harry with a grin.

 

“Blessed Zeus….how….that is astonishing. How much can you erase?” asked Richard.

 

“You can erase several days safely and if you know what you are on about you can even erase a specific memory and leave everything else,” explained Hermione.

 

“Very well I want all three of you in Life Stations when we wake up our friend Six. Daniel I hope you understand that we will need to keep an eye on your movements for the short term.” Daniel nodded but Harry and Hermione looked ready to protest but Richard pushed on. “I understand that it may not seem fair but like it or not our peoples are at war. I am willing to grant you asylum given your invaluable help but I still have to sell this to Kyle and his officers. “

 

Daniel smiled at his two human supporters. “Harry, Hermione don’t. I understand the Colonel’s concerns. Will I still be able to work as a Medic?”

 

Richard slowly nodded, “Pending Doctor Jacksons approval, although you may find yourself pulled in to a few meetings as things progress. Now Daniel I need one last thing would you be able to help us identify One?”

 

Daniel nodded, “Of course.”

 

“Any tricks up your sleeve?” Richard asked Hermione.

 

Hermione inclined her head toward Harry, “Harry you have more combat training than I do, although I suspect a stunner would put One out for the count.”

 

Harry thought for a moment, “One is stronger than an average Human so I might have to use something stronger.”

 

Richard reached for the Wireless set on his desk and called through to CIC to request Kyle come to his quarters.

 

“I want all three of you on the team to capture One.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Priestess – Cargo Hold

 

One smiled as watched the young woman reach up to the top shelf as she searched for something on the racks. Her flat stomach was exposed as was the top of her white underwear. It was a pleasant view…ah such a pity that when humanity ceased so would their pornography. Eights were well and good but so….unimaginative. Perhaps one of the women could be persuaded. 

 

“Excuse me,” said a male voice from behind him.

 

One turned to see a flash of red light and the sensation of falling.

 

oOoOoOo

 

Triton – Brig Cell #2

 

Kyle turned away from the thick Perspex of the observation window. “That was easy enough.”

 

“Thanks to Mr Erikson,” added Richard Sparta.

 

Emma turned to Kyle. “Who should be in the next cell. He admitted to being a Cylon.”

 

Richard’s face was set as he faced Emma. “Lieutenant he potentially saved all of our lives and he has given us our first glimpse in to why the Cylons attacked. I have granted him asylum and unless he betrays our trust I will hold to that agreement. Is that understood?”

 

Emma stood to attention, “Yes Sir.”

 

Richard stood and grabbed his cane to balance himself. “I would like you both to sit in on the interrogation of our other guest. You can stun our guests if they get out of hand but let’s be careful about this. Major please enlarge the guard force for this observation room and at both exits in case his nap time ends before our friends estimated.”

 

“Yes Sir,” replied Kyle.

 

“Good then let’s go and see what Six has to say.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Triton – Brig Cell #6

 

Harry was waiting outside the cell with three heavily armed marines when Richard, Kyle and Emma turned the corner. 

 

“Sargent report,” ordered Kyle.

 

The Marine stood to attention, “Sir the medic just injected the prisoner a few moments ago. He reckons she’ll be awake in the next few minutes. We made sure all our ship patches were off before the medic arrived.” 

 

Kyle nodded, “Good, Colonel?” 

 

Richard waived away the question as he focused on the blond Cylon he had started to stir. After nearly a minute she opened her eyes and looked around. Almost immediately she spotted the Colonial officers on the other side on the Perspex. 

 

“Well it appears I am in the hands of my enemies,” said Six with a broad smile. She climbed off the bed and walked over to stand opposite the group watching her. To those watching she actually looked amused.

 

Richard nodded, “So it would appear Six or do you have another name you prefer?”

 

That actually wiped the smile off her face for a moment. It was soon back but it no longer reached her eyes.

 

“Six will do. You are remarkably well informed Colonel. I wonder how you found that bit of information out.”

 

Richard simply looked down at his notes, “You would be surprised by what I know and its diversity and veracity. Now I have a few questions Six.” 

 

Six studied Kyle and Emma before turning to Harry with a bright smile, “Are your friends going to introduce themselves?”

 

“No. Six I don’t think introductions are necessary at this point. Now I’d appreciate it if you could tell me why your people decided to renew hostilities after such a long period of peace. The Citmar accords were to the benefit of both our peoples and we have abided by its articles."

 

Six was the picture of amused disbelief. "Really and in the last few years your people's forays across the armistice line in to our space were simply cases of FTL malfunctions. A Battlestar like the Valkyrie just happened to cross the line? The colonial spies we have interrogated were lying about their citizenship?"

 

Richard Sparta's eyes narrowed, "You claim that we breached the armistice line?"

 

"I make no claim. The truth is the truth and by your actions you have been judged."

 

"I see, well Six this is somewhat of a dilemma. While you are here you are a risk to every person on this ship. Some of my officers have advocating simply throwing you out an airlock. I personally don't see what killing you would achieve. You would simply download and report what you had seen."

 

Six looked shocked for a moment before her eyes narrowed, "I won't tell you anything."

 

Richard nodded, "Fair enough I'll go and see what One's got say. Make yourself comfortable Six I'm not sure how long you will be a guest."

 

"Wake One up," Richard ordered as he turned away from the Perspex.

 

As soon as they were out of the cell block Richard turned to face Hermione and Harry, "Think we rattled her?"

 

Hermione nodded, "It certainly looked like it a few times. Daniel said that she is a believer. One has lied to them, manipulated their belief in God..... I think you will need more than a few shocks to shake her belief."

 

Richard looked back to the brig, "You are probably right. I think I need to talk to Daniel again. "What I would give for a decent lawyer who knows how to question. I've debriefed people under my command but I've never played these sorts of games before. I recognise the huge windfall in having Daniel and of course you as assets but....the truth of the matter is that I'm a bit out of my depth here. The last time I served on a Battlestar I was a junior lieutenant and I'm sure that I didn't get a briefing on dealing with Cylon defectors and misled religious fanatics."

 

Harry actually found himself feeling for the older man. The Colonel was trying to do the right thing but the situation appeared to be growing more and more complicated. He was about to ask if there was anything he could do when he was interrupted by the alert klaxon.

 

oOoOoOo

 

Hybrids chamber - Baseship 116 

 

"The travelers have befriended the lost.....primary coolant flow is interrupted in JJ45443......Colonial transponder verified......opening tertiary vents at juncture 5656-EPC......cycling power through FTL."

 

Two dipped a hand in to the data stream immersing himself in to the flow of information.

 

"Is it the Pegasus?" asked a Three dressed in black military style fatigues.

 

Two shook his head as he removed his hand, "Not unless they have altered both their transponder code and class. It is an accord class Battlestar."

"I distinctly remember that One reported that all the ships of that class were accounted for in our initial attack."

 

"It appears he missed one. This complicates matters; we now have three Battlestars gathering survivors. We warned One that this could happen but he insisted on ignoring the hybrid's warnings."

 

Three rolled her eyes at her brother’s conviction that the hybrid's gibberish was some sort of divine truth. "Whatever the reason we need to deal with this before this gets any worse. Launch Raiders and send a call for whatever assets we have within range."

 

oOoOoOo

 

Triton - CIC

 

"Talk to me," ordered Kyle as he entered CIC with Emma.

 

"DRADIS contact the CAP confirms a Cylon Baseship at twenty.....they are launching Raiders," reported an ensign at operations. "Over seven hundred contacts, they will be in range in three minutes."

 

"Sir the captain of the Priestess is requesting instructions."

 

Kyle gestured toward Emma, "Get our Vipers launched and I want suppression fire and coverage for the Priestess. Tell the Priestess to prepare to jump. We'll transmit coordinates as soon as we have them. We Frakked up not having transmitted the coordinates, so now we need to get our fingers out people. Put us between the Priestess and the Baseship."

 

"Coordinates have been transmitted to the Priestess she reports she will be ready presently. They had their FTL spun up!"

 

"Thank the Gods...hold the launch and get our CAP aboard. Combat landings are authorised. Once they are aboard and the Priestess has jumped get us out of here."

 

"The first wave of the Raiders are launching missiles......radiological warning. There are nukes in the mix!"

 

The Triton's point defence guns were throwing up a deadly cloud of metal. Its purpose was to defend against incoming missiles and it was doing its job admirably but it couldn't stop over three hundred missiles. Several struck detonating ineffectually on the armoured hull by three struck points weakened by previous hits. Luck or the Gods appeared to be on their side as none were nukes. 

 

"We have taken some damage on the portside, aft of the flight pod," the petty officer at damage control reported as green lights flickered to amber and red. "Damage control parties are responding."

 

"The Priestess has jumped," reported operations.

 

"CAP is aboard," reported Emma.

 

"Jump,” ordered Kyle.

 

oOoOoOo

 

Hybrids chamber - Baseship 116 

 

"The lost has seen the travellers........capacitor 262428 has overloaded rerouting power........the shepherds gather their lost sheep.......Baseship 425 has jumped in to range......Baseship 203 has jumped in to range....networking data streams....air recycling on deck 19 requires maintenance.....Raiders are docked......warning depressurisation in airlock T512J it requires maintenance......"

 

Two frowned, "There are words being repeated over and over. The travellers and the lost and now the shepherd. I think we need to find that ship again. Something I don't understand is happening. I’ve never heard the Hybrid use those terms before.”

 

“What does it matter Two?” asked an Eight that had so far ignored her arguing siblings.

 

Two shook his head in frustration. “What if it’s a warning?”

 

Three shrugged, “About what some lost Colonials? I think you are putting too much emphasis on the Hybrid’s words. Yes it could mean something but we may never know what. Right now we have to stop three Battlestars joining forces. We need to send out scouts and find them.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Main Engineering - Triton

 

"Frak, we've got a problem......main power just fluctuated badly right before the jump then straight after. Frak there it did it again. Power levels are spiking down." 

 

Petty officer James Morris looked over the engineering crewman’s shoulder to read his console. "That's aft power distribution offline." Morris considered his options for less than a second. "Call it in I'll take a crew down to section two."

 

The crewman nodded as he picked up the wireless. Morris didn't wait to hear the conversation he was already moving, calling for two crewmen to assist. 

 

Morris was the first to reach the hatch and was surprised to see it wasn't properly sealed but that thought was quickly replaced by fear when he caught the smell of burning plastic. "Fire, get a fraking fire extinguisher. See if you can find out what is wrong with the fire suppression system. I'm going to reroute power through the backups."

 

The two crewmen jumped in to action as Morris ran to the hatch that led to the secondary systems. The hatch required special access but as he reached up he realised the light was already blinking green. It was possible that one hatch was open but two secure hatches was not a coincidence. Keeping an eye on the door he moved to the wall mounted wireless and dialled CIC.

 

"Operations," responded a male voice.

 

"This is Petty Officer Morris from engineering. I've got a potential security breech, a major one," Morris quickly explained the situation.

 

"Right we've got marines headed your way. Keep an eye on the hatch and stay on the line."

 

"Sir if this is sabotage and they blow the backups we'll be in big trouble."

 

"Understood three minutes till we have marines with you as backup hold until then,” The last was said in a tone that made clear it was an order.

 

Two and a half minutes later four marines appeared. Morris relayed their presence to the bridge. 

 

"Your orders are to secure the engineering spaces. Weapons are free."

 

The senior Marine was a corporal who offered Morris a pistol. "You know how to use this?"

 

Morris nodded and checked the safety was on before nodding. "I'm good enough."

 

"Good then follow us in," the corporal gestured and one of his men pulled the hatch open allowing him to visually scan the compartment. It appeared empty. “Right Briggs and Copeman take the left. We’ll take the right side make sure you visually verify your target.”

 

Morris was scanning the banks of equipment looking for any sign of tampering when he spotted boots and a large bag on the other side of a rack of equipment. He tapped the Corporal on the arm and pointed. The Corporal nodded gesturing for Morris to stay as he and his companion continued he slow advance toward the rear of the cluttered noisy space. As the Marines disappeared from sight he knelt down and waited.

 

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a yelled command followed by several gunshots. From his position he could see a figure with long black hair on the ground. As the figure fell an object rolled under the panel. It was the size of his fist with a single blinking red light at one end. One thought went through his mind, bomb.

 

“Bomb”, Morris screamed as he dropped to his stomach and tried to reach the device. It was just out of reach so he slid under further under the panel until he could grasp it. Sliding out from underneath the panel he clambered to his feet and ran toward the hatch ignoring the Marines cries. Reaching the outer hull and his destination the emergency airlock he opened the lock placing the device inside before closing and sealing the airlock. 

 

“What in the names of the Gods are you doing?” demanded the Marine corporal.

 

“It’s a fraking bomb,” yelled Morris as he cycled the airlock blowing the device out in to space.

 

oOoOoOo

 

Engineering Officers Office – Triton

 

Richard Dontas pushed the device across the desk to Kyle, “The bomb was a fizzle. The saboteur put it together right and the placement was perfect but the detonator used was a dud. Petty Officer Morris didn’t know that of course, brave of him to make that run to the airlock.”

 

Emma nodded, “I’ve already written him up for a bravery citation.”

 

“We were lucky,” said Richard Sparta as Kyle passed the failed detonator to him. “We cannot rely on luck.”

 

“I’ve already organised sentries for all critical spaces but we can’t be everywhere at once. We simply don’t have the manpower,” reported Emma.

 

Kyle looked frustrated as he ran a hand through his hair, “What about the saboteur?”

 

Richard Dontas shook his head an expression of frustration on his face. “Crewman Claire Lee she’s been on-board for seven months. Hades she had been an exemplary member of the engineering crew.”

 

“A sleeper agent……we need to get out resident Cylon to have a look at her. In fact we need to get a photo of every crew member to him. Let’s round them all up in one go. Damn I really should have thought of this before.” Seeing that not everyone was following him Richard Sparta explained to the others. “Daniel knows what every Humanoid Cylon looks like.” 

 

“What’s the repair estimate?” asked Kyle to avoid another conversation about Daniel. Colonel Sparta trusted the Cylon but to be honest he was far from fully convinced.

 

“First estimate is about ten hours but we’re hoping we can shave some off that. As is the Triton is space worthy but we normally wouldn’t take her in to a combat situation running on the backups. Given our situation….well I’d still prefer to get the power distribution systems repaired before we get in to another slugging match.”

 

“Whatever you need to do Richard make it happen,” ordered Kyle. “Emma I want you to get a copy of the ID photo for each crewman to Colonel Sparta. If we have another Cylon agent aboard I’d rather we find that out sooner, rather than later.”

 

“What about the Cylons we already have aboard?” asked Emma.

 

Richard Sparta smiled coldly, “Actually I have a plan. I think we can get rid of them and sow a bit of discord amongst our enemies.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Triton – Brig Cell #2

 

“Name and occupation?” asked Richard Sparta.

 

“John Cavil I am a lay brother may I ask why I am being held?”

 

“We’ll get to that soon Brother Cavil. Can I get your residential address please?”

 

“May I ask what the relevance is of these questions?”

 

Richard smiled, “Of course my apologies, I was simply trying to see how well polished your cover story was.”

 

“I think you have me mistaken for…”

 

Richard cut him off, “Someone else? No I don’t think so One. My information is pretty accurate.”

 

“If you think that imprisoning me here is going to help your hopeless cause you are mistaken. Humanity is doomed to die, no wait you are already dead. You just haven't realised it yet. The last remnants caught in our net."

 

"Are you finished?" asked Richard Sparta with a raised eyebrow.

 

One glared but said nothing more.

 

"Well One I think you need to turn your attention to your current predicament. I don’t want to just kill you just so you can wake up on the nearest Resurrection ship. I’m thinking creatively perhaps locking you in this cell until, as you say the net closes in on us. Or maybe we simply maroon you on some barely habitable rock somewhere with a year’s supply of food and a loaded pistol. Let’s test that Cylon religious conviction. Will God forgive you if you eat a bullet to escape the boredom? I mean how do you appropriately punish a war criminal? Is there an acceptable punishment for attempted genocide?”

 

One seemed to go from anger to icy calm almost instantly, “You have a remarkably good source Colonel. It makes me wonder who exactly you have been speaking to. Not entirely accurate but still very credible. As for my war crimes….there is an old saying Colonel history is written by the victor. Your people tried their hand at genocide and failed now we have improved on your designs.”

 

Richard shrugged, “I’m not that interested in what you want to say to justify yourself. I am curious however. The last war ended suddenly, I’ve recently learned that this is because you encountered five Humanoid Cylons. They persuaded you to end the war with the promise of resurrection technology and the development of what became you and your brothers and sisters. These five survivors what became of them One? Why have they disappeared just as the war begins? You murdered Seven because he objected to your plan and you tampered with the memories of your fellow Cylons, why?”

 

One’s glare was deadly.

 

“Nothing to say One?”

 

“I will hunt you down Colonel and you will beg for death,” hissed One.

 

Richard gave the Cylon a contemptuous smile, “Is that what you told the others, that they will beg for death? Hades can they still beg for death or have you designed inhibitor chips for them as well?”

 

One lunged at the dividing wall smashing his fists in to the hardened material. “You’ll pay you filthy Human along with whatever defective traitor is helping you. They’ll be boxed for all eternity.”

 

Richard laughed, “You’ve already killed off one model what’s another eh One?”

 

One stood back and straightened his clothes making a visible effort to calm himself. “Daniel died because he opposed our destiny the others are not dead Colonel they are….lost. I wonder what else you know Colonel it will be amusing finding out.”

 

“You won’t ever know One. Hermione if you would, I think we have enough.”

 

One was expecting a Marine to execute him but instead he saw a young woman holding a small stick. 

 

“Obliviate”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Triton – Brig Cell #6

 

Richard wheeled a video screen up to the Perspex wall, “I have something I thought you might like to see Six.”

 

Six stood up from her simple bunk and stretched looking like a Caprican fashion model rather than a prisoner. “Really Colonel and what might that be?”

 

“I don’t want to ahhh…colour your opinion you watch it and then we’ll talk.”

 

Richard looked over to the two crewmen who nodded. The video was ready to play. Dismissing the two men he waited for them to leave before hitting play.

 

“Name and occupation?” asked Richard Sparta.

 

“John Cavil I am a lay brother may I ask why I am being held?”

 

“We’ll get to that soon Brother Cavil. Can I get your residential address please?”

 

“May I ask what the relevance is of these questions?”

 

oOoOoOo

Triton - Commanders wardroom

 

Kyle poured Richard a tea before passing the older man a mug, “How did it go?”

 

“She didn’t say too much but she looked to be seething by the end of it. I think this may actually work.”

 

“I hope so Sir,” replied Kyle.

 

“Still got concerns Major?”

 

“To be honest yes, dropping a pair of Cylons off somewhere so they can be found seems mad. The plan itself does make sense. Kyle shrugged, “But you are putting a lot of trust in a Cylon and our two mystery passengers.”

 

"Yes I am but not blindly and not without an eye toward the future. As I said Major trust begets trust. Daniel is an idealist I don't care that he is a Cylon that doesn't alter his moral grounding. How utterly foolish and brilliant these other Cylons were to build a moral machine then put it in to a human body. They've made him human enough to question his data. For a people at war he's a priceless gift. But Hermione and Harry may be even more valuable in the end. What Colony are they from Major?"

 

Kyle shrugged not understanding the seeming change of subject, "They never said."

 

"And their ship, are we any closer to understanding how it works?"

 

Kyle shook his head.

 

Richard took a sip of his tea before continuing. "I suspect they might not be from the colonies. Have you heard of the Thirteenth tribe?"

 

"I....I had thought they were from some hidden sect....monotheists or some such but...the Thirteenth tribe would mean that we have a potential safe haven."

 

"Perhaps, it's all speculation until we can build some trust."

 

Kyle almost winced as he thought his way through the implications. If Harry and Hermione were from the Thirteenth tribe then there were serious potential problems that could be linked back to their initial treatment.   
Sparta's plan to use Six as a tactic for sowing dissension was brilliant and dangerous. It could buy them time.   
Time to find more survivors and to find a safe haven....where ever that might be.


	7. Chapter 7

Gods among us - A Harry Potter and Battlestar Galactica crossover

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

 

Last time:

 

"Perhaps, it's all speculation until we can build some trust."

 

Kyle almost winced as he thought his way through the implications. If Harry and Hermione were from the Thirteenth tribe then there were serious potential problems that could be linked back to their initial treatment. Sparta's plan to use Six as a tactic for sowing dissension was brilliant and dangerous. It could buy them time. It was time to find more survivors and to find a safe haven....wherever that might be.

 

Chapter 7

 

CIC - Battlestar Triton

 

"Jump complete, Priestess has completed jump successfully. DRADIS is clear."

 

Kyle nodded in acknowledgement before turning to Emma, "Good let's calculate our next jump and get the coordinates to the Priestess. XO let’s get a CAP out and then I want an all department heads meeting."

 

"Sir,” replied Emma before lifting her wireless and beginning to issue orders.

 

Satisfied that everything was under control Kyle wandered the CIC checking in with each of the crew. While technically it was their department heads role to pass their people's concerns he liked to get a feel for what the crews concerns and challenges were. Given their situation he wanted to make sure they knew issues were being addressed.

 

"Sir I've got some small objects coming in to DRADIS range. I think......we have debris bearing 146 Carom 224. They're too small for anything else." Petty Officer Kane was working the DRADIS trying to find out everything he could so Kyle simply waited for the crewman to report.

 

"Faint radiological readings.....definitely a nuke…..Sorry Sir it is right at the edge of our range. Best as I can tell it’s quite a widely dispersed field of debris.”

 

Kyle looked over to Emma who was already lifting the wireless, “XO task the CAP to check it out and let’s go to Condition Two. Notify the Priestess while we see if we can tell who was scrapping.” He made his way back to the command screen and was standing next to Emma when the CAP reached the debris field.

 

"Triton this is Whisper I have a visual on what looks to be a large field of combat debris.”

 

Kyle picked up his wireless headset and nodded to communications to indicate he wanted a direct line. "Whisper, Triton Actual can you confirm the identity of the ships involved?”

 

“Triton Actual we have what looks like a civilian ship from the debris. There is a faint radiological reading but not, I repeat not from a detonation. The radioactive debris present in the field are not post nuclear detonation”

 

Kyle turned to Emma and raised an eyebrow, “Why would a civilian ship be carrying a nuke?”

 

Emma shook her head, “I can’t think of a reason except as some sort of decoy or trap and that…”

 

Kyle continued Emma’s sentence “Would be skirting very close to breaching the Articles of war.”

 

“I think we need to know what happened here,” said Kyle as he reactivated his wireless. “Whisper, Triton Actual. Conduct a sweep looking for the ships Flight Recorder.”

 

“Acknowledged Triton.”

 

“Triton, Whisper I have the flight recorder signal. It’s faint but it is broadcasting.”

 

Kyle keyed his wireless on, “Whisper, Triton Actual we are sending a Raptor to retrieve.”

 

“I shall keep a track sir. Mark one eyeball.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Chief Gray frowned as he looked at the flight recorder hooked up to external battery. The case was dented and it was slightly cracked but flight recorders were heavy duty, built to survive the destruction caused by a crash or an explosion. “So why won’t you turn on?”

 

“Problem Chief?” asked a grinning Rebeka as she walked past with an armload of avionics parts.

 

“Yep piece of Fraking crap won’t power up. I’ve tried an external battery but….well you can see. Not even a red light. Old man is going to be annoyed.”

 

Rebeka put down her spare parts and picked up the Flight Recorder turning it over in her hands. “Hmm it doesn’t look banged up enough to be fizzing. Want me to have a look after I’m finished with my Raptor?”

 

“Do this first the boss wants this as soon as possible. It’s from the civvie ship they found in a million bits and pieces so you can see why.”

 

Rebeka nodded and reached for a small screwdriver. “Well shouldn’t take long.”

 

Forty minutes later Rebeka joined the Chief in glaring at the uncooperative equipment. “There is no reason that it shouldn’t be working. Even an EMP would let us charge the cursed thing…..unless.” Rebeka started looking around before spotting her target, “HARRY!”

 

Harry walked over followed by two crewmen he’d been working with replicating parts for Vipers. Since discovering his ability Harry had been working with a small team of crewmen replicating the parts needed to keep the Vipers operating. It was being kept relatively quiet under strict orders from Major Brack but given everything that had happened in engineering over the last week it was hard to find a crewman who hadn’t at least speculated.

 

“Chief, Rebeka what can I do for you?” Harry didn’t quite trust the crew of the Triton as a whole but he did like Rebeka and the Chief.

 

“Do you think you can fix this?” asked Rebeka.

 

oOoOoOo

 

Damn get Ronser on the wireless……..Seth what is the status of the FTL?

 

We need to jump soon or we damn.....we won’t be able to find the Galactica and the fleet.

 

Wait….wait DRADIS contact…..oh merciful Gods its Cylon.

 

Ronser I need the FTL right the frak now!

 

You will surrender immediately or we will open fire on your ship.

 

Damn….no…no reply. Kell break out the side arms.

 

What the hell are you….wait

 

BANG, BANG, BANG

 

This is Five I have the bridge. Venting atmosphere….now.

 

Warning decompression…warning decompression…warning decompression

 

Status?

 

The ship is secure. 

 

Good a heavy raider is on route with the device. 

 

Wait…..wait I have some alarms. There must be some survivors in survival suits.

 

That is why I have centurions aboard. Hold the bridge until they arrive.

 

“There is a long pause here for nearly two hours,” said Chief Grey. “I’ll just get to the next capture.”

 

The Raider has departed. I have the arming code in my hand.

 

Good luck we will see you back on the hub.

 

Olympic Carrier, Olympic Carrier. This is Raptor 478, call sign Boomer. I have you in visual contact. Please respond on this channel, over. 

 

Raptor 478, this is the Olympic Carrier. We have you in visual contact. Thank the Lords of Kobol - you don't know how relieved we are to see you. 

 

Roger that, Olympic Carrier. Can I ask about your whereabouts? 

 

We had trouble with our FTL drive. Took us almost three hours to fix. 

 

Olympic Carrier, Boomer. I've been directed to ask you how you escaped from the Cylons. 

 

You got me. They were closing in on us when the rest of you were jumping. I thought we were goners and they just broke off. Someone must have been watching out for us. 

 

Roger that. 

 

One other thing, Boomer. I've got a Dr. Amarak on board, he claims he has an urgent matter to discuss with the President. He's been driving me crazy. 

 

Olympic Carrier, can you be more specific? 

 

I'm afraid I can't. He says he knows something about a traitor in our midst, and he's unwilling to share more than that.

 

Olympic Carrier, Olympic Carrier, you are ordered to stop your engines immediately. Acknowledge

 

Olympic Carrier, Olympic Carrier, you are ordered to stop your engines immediately. Acknowledge

 

The audio file finished with the sound of alarms and then nothing.

 

Chief Grey shut the replay system down, “That’s the best we can do with the audio Sir. The computer records of course and FTL data matches the Audio.”

 

Richard Sparta closed his eyes for a moment, “How many passengers on board?”

 

“According to the manifest one thousand three hundred and forty five” replied Chief Grey.

 

“Damned toasters,” whispered Emma.

 

Kyle rubbed his face tiredly, “It is a tragedy but we can’t do much about it now. So the Galactica and a fleet of ships are out there. According to the flight recorder they are about twelve days ahead of us with at least a small Cylon fleet following them.”

 

Richard frowned as he looked down at his notes, “Assuming Adama is maintaining his heading away from Colonial space along the same bearing.”

 

Scott Barrington frowned as he started making some complex navigational computations, “They would have to mix up his jumps especially with a fleet of ships. I think if we extend our range with Raptors fitted with long range sensor pods we could have them ranging ahead looking for the Galactica. With four Raptors we should be able to cover a large area.” 

Scott looked over at Hector 'Smash' Golan who slowly nodded. “It should work. My only concern is that we’ll be asking the Raptor crews to be a long way out without backup.”

 

"We need information not hero's if a Raptor is spotted then they bug out. We will have to determine emergency jump coordinates. That should give us all some extra protection," said Kyle. Around the table most were nodding although Sparta looked a bit apprehensive, "Colonel?"

 

Richard shook his head, "I don't need to tell anyone here that finding other fleet elements is critical to our people's survival but there are other factors to consider here.” He held up his hand as if warding off comments. “I’m just saying that we need to consider the bigger picture. We now suspect that the war is not as black and white as it first appears. If….no when we find Galactica we are going to have to deal with potential Cylon infiltrators. What happens if one is a senior officer?"

 

Hector tapped the audio device, "The fact that one of the senior officers on the Olympic Carrier was a Cylon is worrying but wouldn't Daniel be able to help identify Cylons in the fleet like he has done for us?"

 

Kyle looked around seeing the mixed expressions amongst his officers, "I think briefing in their command team should work if we are careful. As to the Raptor idea Scott, work it out with Hector and get it up and running as soon as possible. The rest of us will be doing a full inspection. Let's make sure everything is working people.”

 

Kyle watched as everyone filled out save Richard. “Okay so we have some decisions to make Sir.”

 

“The Cylons?” asked Richard.

 

Kyle nodded, “Do you think this will work?”

 

Richard sat back in to his chair considering, “It should….if nothing else it should sow dissention among the ranks of Cylons who are not one hundred percent behind One.”

 

“And at best we could see what…..a Cylon civil war, more defectors?”

 

Richard smiled coldly, “Oh I think there may already be other defectors. The humanoid Cylons have free will, at the moment anyway. Logically there will be others who….question. We have to win if we wish to survive and I’ll do everything I can in whatever arena presents itself to see that through Major. If that means entertaining the concept of legitimate Cylon defectors and defending their ‘rights’ then I’ll do it with a smile.”

 

“And if the bring a Basestar with them?” asked Kyle with a genuine smile.

 

“I don’t know about you Major but I can think of quite a few things I could do with a Basestar.”

 

oOoOoOo

Triton – Brig Cell #6

 

Six was angry. Very, very angry at One right now. 

 

One’s confession was shocking but even worse was the fact that it appeared to be totally genuine. There was no way the Colonials could fake One’s reactions. She had seen ‘John’ lose his temper and this was way too close to her memory for her to question its authenticity. Revelations such as these were likely to cause a great deal of debate amongst some of the models that questioned One’s methodology. If it was proven that One had killed Seven…….it was almost incomprehensible but if he had it might be enough to see a split in the Cylon leadership.

 

Six’s thoughts were interrupted by two guards arriving with her meal. The two heavily armed Marines were accompanied by a young woman. The woman nodded and the two guards stepped back allowing her to approach the cell.

 

“Six I’ve got some food for you here. Are you hungry?”

 

Six smiled and stepped up to the Perspex, “You were here the other day, in the background.”

 

“Yes I was Six….I’m sorry do you prefer another name? Calling you Six seems a bit impersonal.”

 

“Six is fine.”

 

Hermione smiled, “Well here is your food Six. If you want anything or need any toiletries or anything let me know.”

 

“Actually I could use some….feminine hygiene products.”

 

Hermione nodded, “Of course I’ll bring some back with me. My name is Hermione by the way.”

 

“Hermione….. classical, so Hermione why are you not afraid of me. Your guards are terrified but you are not.”

 

Hermione shrugged, “You have given me no reason to be afraid of you.”

 

Six tilted her head to the side while she studied Hermione, “Who are you Hermione?”

 

“Hermione is a valued member of the crew Six,” said Richard Sparta as he walked around the corner. “You wished to see me?”

 

Six nodded, “Is One still alive?”

 

“Yes, why?” asked Richard.

 

“I want to speak to him.”

 

Richard frowned, “Why?”

 

Six’s eyes narrowed, “I suspect you know why.”

 

Richard gestured to the cell door, “Corporal, please unlock the door.”

 

The Corporal quickly unlocked the door and stepped back. Both Marines had their weapons ready even if they were not quite pointing them at the blond Cylon.

 

“Very well Six follow me please,” said Richard who led the group to One’s cell.

 

One was sitting with his eyes closed when they arrived outside his cell. When Richard reached the Perspex his eyes opened. “Ah Colonel you are late. I’ve already eaten.”

 

Richard gestured toward Six whose appearance outside his cell seemed to throw One for a few moments, “Another visitor Colonel?”

 

“Why did you do it?” hissed Six.

 

One frowned looking back and forth between Six and the Colonials.

 

“Why did you betray your own…..you killed Seven's entire line. What else have you lied about One?”

 

Richard gestured and one of the Marines hit play of the video unit outside the cell. Immediately Richards questioning of one began playing. Six punched the Perspex, “You manipulated us…..what did you do to the Five?”

 

One’s face twisted in to a picture of Fury, “You filthy Fraking traitor. They were defective, like Seven they couldn’t see with the clarity I did.”

 

“Dear God you are insane,” whispered Six.

 

One laughed, “Insane….I think not I have clarity and logic because I’m a machine built in imitation of my creator. Do you think belief in your non-existent God will save you from humanity? Do you think they showed you this out of compassion for your misguided sins?”

 

Six stepped back and studied One with contempt.

 

Richard looked over at the guard and nodded before turning to Six, “Six I understand that we are still enemies and I know that this is hard for you to hear but this revelation changes things.”

 

“How did you know all this Colonel?” asked Six.

 

Richard waved his hand, “That is not my secret to tell Six.”

 

Six seemed to deflate as her anger ebbed away, “So what now the airlock?”

 

“No Six in fact we are going to let you go.”

 

“Let me go?” 

 

“Yes I think your people need to know about this, don’t you?”

 

Six stepped backward studying the Colonel, “The war won’t end because of this Colonel.”

 

“Perhaps not but someday it will and I would like to think that this is a first step in that direction. Even enemies can be honourable.”

 

“How touching,” said One contemptuously. “I don’t know how you got that tape Colonel but you have doomed yourself with it.”

 

Six spun around to face one, “I’m going to make sure that this makes it's way in to as many of our people’s hands as I can. I think quite a few of us are going to want answers.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Six returned to her cell without protest and sat on her bunk with a thoughtful look on her face. When Hermione arrived with a toiletry bag Six looked up, “Ah thank you Hermione.”

 

“You are welcome Six,” replied Hermione.

 

“You never answered my question.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“Why do you have no physiological reaction to me, to Cylons?”

 

Hermione wasn’t sure how to answer that. “As I said Six I don ‘t know you.”

 

Hermione disappeared around the corner leaving a thoughtful Six in her cell.

 

oOoOoOo

 

Harry and Hermione’s Cabin

 

“Where in the name of the Gods did you get fresh fish?" asked Rebeka as Harry uncovered the platter.

 

"It's frozen; Hermione tweaked it with, “Harry waved his wand. "We can't create food from nothing but you can adjust the end product. It still has the same nutritional value as the frozen just better presentation and I hope taste."

 

Rebeka tried a bit of the fish and smiled, "It's great, Harry will you marry me?"

 

Harry laughed, "Sorry spoken for."

 

Paul Gray laughed and took a healthy serve of fish and what looked like sliced up fried potatoes. A mouthful convinced him that Rebeka wasn’t exaggerating, it was delicious.

 

Daniel simply smiled and raised an eyebrow at the others reactions. Harry could create new ship parts, heal the sick and a myriad of other tasks and yet people were astonished at some manipulation of their food. 

 

Paul laughed again as Rebeka snagged more potatoes. "You've created a monster now."

 

Rebeka responded with a rude noise.

 

Paul took a sip of his water and paused. The water tasted, well fresh was the only word he could think of. It lacked the odd taste of recycled water. “Hermione I did want to ask you about something. Harry mentioned that you both can create water but then the conversation was interrupted. If you create water will it disappear?"

 

Hermione shook her head, "No water is permanent why?"

 

Paul grinned "I think you need to tell the Major. Water is a consumable resource and even with recycling we use a bit every day. Without fleet facilities getting more was problematic. I'll bet it will make his day."

 

With everything else going on Hermione realised that they still hadn't sat down with Kyle and fully discussed how they could help with day to day problems. Replenishing water was one idea there were sure to be more. "I had been meaning to speak to Kyle or Richard about how else we can help. I will make sure to do so tomorrow."

 

Harry nodded although he was less enthused with the idea as was Daniel if his expression was anything to go by. It had only been a little over a week since they were going to be locked up by the same people they were now trying to help. He had gotten to know a few like Rebeka and the Chief who seemed nice enough. As for the others, well as far as he was concerned the jury was still out.

 

“How …..” began Hermione only to be interrupted by a klaxon.

 

“Action Stations…..all hands to action stations.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

CIC Triton

 

“What have we got?” asked Kyle as he strode in to CIC.

 

Emma pointed to the DRADIS screen, “One of our Raptor’s has found two Colonial ships both registering as friendly on IFF although both are powered down and drifting. They haven’t answered their wireless.”

 

Kyle frowned, “I don’t like it. Damn we can’t just leave them. Is there any indication of radiation?”

 

“No and the Raptor is close enough to detect it,” replied Emma.

 

“Right XO I want a Marine squad ready in five. We’ll board them and find out what the hell is happening here.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Raptor 73 

 

The hatch cycled open and three marines in survival suits went through the door with their weapons raised. Behind them two more marines followed holding equipment.

 

“Damn the air is pretty fraking bad in here Sarg,” said a marine holding a hand particle detector. “Lots of CO’2 if anyone is home they are either in a suit or in a bad way.”

 

The fifth marine tried a computer console and then the lights before shaking his head, “Main power is down and the back up as well.”

 

“Right let’s do a thorough sweep,” said the Sargent.

 

It didn’t take long to find out why no one was investigating their presence. Three bodies covered by what looked like blood stained sheets. 

 

“Frak,” hissed the Sargent when he pulled back the sheet to see a middle aged woman with a single bullet hole in her forehead. “Right call it in this ain’t no accident.”

 

As their Wireless specialist reported to the Raptor’s ECO to pass on to Triton the Sargent examined the other two bodies. One male in a merchant fleet uniform again shot in the head. The third was a young woman again shot although unlike the other two she had a bruise on her face and a split lip. Shaking his head he went to stand before something caught his eye. The bloody sheet had hand prints on it…..one of which was a very small handprint, a child’s handprint.

“Frak…..Ryan start sweeping the rest of the ship. There may be a child on board. They could be hiding somewhere so check the crawl spaces as well.”

 

Searching by torch light it took nearly an hour before they found two young girls huddled next to an injured woman. The woman was unconscious either from her gunshot injuries or from the bad air. The girls were semi-conscious and absolutely terrified. 

 

oOoOoOo

 

Lifestations – Triton

 

Doctor Jackson threw his gloves in the bin as he walked through the doors of his office and threw himself in to his seat while Hermione closed the door. Both Kyle and Richard cringed at the look of anger on the Doctor’s face.

 

“Doctor?” prompted Richard much to Kyle’s relief.

 

“The girls are five and seven, Emaline and Ada. They are sedated now and besides some negative physical effects from the poor atmosphere they are uninjured. The woman is apparently their Aunt Anika and from what I can understand it sounds like she was the navigator for the ship. She has been shot twice, in the back. To be honest even with Hermione’s help I’m not sure she will survive but for now she’s stable.”

 

“Do we know anything else?” asked Kyle.

 

“They say soldiers dressed like our marines came aboard and took things from the ship. Their Aunt complained and was shot and apparently left for dead. The girls were hidden in the crawl space and came out after everyone left. The poor things found the dead crewmen and then their Aunt. It was the girls that covered the dead.”

 

“Marine’s…..I wonder if it’s the same renegades the Athena’s Bow encountered?” asked Kyle.

 

A knock on the door sounded and Hermione opened it to see Emma standing outside holding a plastic bag a look of rage on her face, “Sir you need to see this.”

 

“XO….Emma what is it?”

 

Emma passed Kyle the clear plastic bag which contained a Marine cap emblazoned with a Pegasus patch, “This was on the other ship, the Cybere sitting on a bridge console. We found five bodies aboard all shot at close range.”

 

Richard cleared his throat, “Was the ship looted?”

 

Emma nodded, “Looks like they took food, fuel and equipment including the air recycler. Both the Apollo and the Cybere have had their flight recorders removed but they did find something.” She pulled out a disk in another plastic bag. “The Cybere had a security camera on the bridge. Guess the Captain wanted his crew on their toes.”

 

“Was it fleet renegades?” asked Kyle.

 

Emma shook her head and placed the disk in to a small player. It wasn’t the highest definition even on the small screen but through it they could see the bridge window. “Watch,” said Emma.

 

After a moment a crewman rushed on to the bridge and answered the wireless. Outside a large shape appeared, clearly visible in the image was a Battlestar.

 

Richard was the first to recover, “The Pegasus.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

“There is no conceivable way that a crew of renegades could have taken control of a Battlestar the size of Pegasus. A Battlestar isn’t a freighter. Hades it has a bigger crew complement than the Triton,” argued Hector.

 

“Then the other option is that the Pegasus under Admiral Cain has decided to loot civilian ships and kill their crews. Which is more unlikely?” replied Aren Callet.

 

Richard frowned before clearing his throat, loudly. “If you all will take a break I’d like to talk to Major Brack alone.”

 

As the officers finish filing out closing the door behind them Richard turned to Kyle, “Do you know Helena Cain?”

 

“Only by reputation,” replied Kyle.

 

“She is dedicated and can be ruthless. Even as a Lieutenant she was vicious if provoked. I know of more than one officer that crossed her and paid. Major….Kyle I know the evidence is by no means solid but I’ll be damned if I step aside and say nothing if she is responsible for this.”

 

“Nor will I.”

 

“Then we need all the evidence from the ships. We’ll need the girls testimony recorded and if the woman survives hers as well. It will have to be enough to convince another senior officer. We need at least three to convene a court martial.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Lifestations – Triton

 

Hermione looked over at Doctor Jackson who nodded. Concentrating she cast another healing spell on the head wound before casting a diagnostic spell.

 

Doctor Jackson shifted to study his monitor. Her vitals were a bit better and seemed to be steady, “Hermione?”

 

“It looks likes the wounds are healing but….I am not a healer.”

 

Doctor Jackson smiled, “I agree she is coming along a lot better but I think you are selling yourself short. You certainly helped save her life.”

 

“How are the girls?” asked Hermione.

 

“Doing as well as can be expected at the moment the nurses are looking out for them. Long term I think transferring them to the Priestess might be the best thing for them. At least there are some children there.”

 

Hermione nodded, “I remember a line from a book I read. Of all the horrors of war the worst are committed against children. I think it was called A Stolen Childhood."

 

"Apt but I prefer to believe that we have done what we can to help them. It's up to the Gods now to see that the scales are rebalanced. Our next patient is Crewman Tealen...."

oOoOoOo

 

Harry knelt down next to Rebeka as she pointed in to the interior of the wall cavity. He was still feeling a bit queasy after the Triton’s jump a few minutes before. For some reason every jump made him feel rather off. It affected Hermione as well but she didn’t seem quite as phased by the effect. Taking a deep breath he focused on Rebeka’s words. "See Harry all the crystal path ways merge here before going in to the floor. It has to be the power source, watch."

 

Rebeka reached down and touched the device she was holding to one of the crystal channels. Immediately the reading changed. "That is electrical energy there is a tiny amount of residual energy being fed in to the system and I suspect you are the source."

 

"Me?"

 

"Yes you although I’ll need to refine that through a bit of research and experimentation. If I’m right then you and Hermione might be the reason the ship is only really reacting when you are aboard."

 

Harry scratched at his chin trying to see why Rebeka was so excited, “That is pretty amazing but what does it mean?"

 

Rebeka shrugged, “Right now I have no idea but if magic or something else about you two is powering the ship or interfering with its operation then we at least know another avenue to explore. Now I need to start my shift and you need to find the Chief.”

 

Harry spent the next three hours being walked through the composition of the ship armor plating. Chief Grey and Richard Dontas the Triton’s acting engineering officer insisted that Harry be briefed on what they wanted him to work on. Eventually they produced a section of the armor that had been damaged and allowed Harry to go to work on it.

 

Richard Dontas shook his head in wonder when Harry finished his spell work. The heavy section of armor looked like it had just come out of the factory. “Okay Harry can you replicate a section just like that?”

 

Harry nodded, “How many do you want?”

 

Richard nearly swallowed his tongue, “W-What do you mean?”

 

“It’s just as easy to do a number of copies.”

 

“Just one for now,” said Richard.

 

The newly conjured copy appeared next to the original.

 

“Frak me…..I know you can do parts but this is the densest metal we have. Producing these plates takes a full metal working….” Richard trailed off and smiled. “You know what this means boys?”

 

Chief Grey groaned but Harry simply shook his head looking puzzled.

 

“We’ve got a new project.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Cylon Basestar 

 

“The Pegasus has eluded our pursuit and given the lack of response from our processing facility on J7347 I suspect that their true target was that facility.” Three glared at One as she reported the failure of his plan. “It looks like the Pegasus is following the same general course as the Galactica.”

 

“Which is something we will need to prevent,” said a Six.

 

One ignored Six’s comment as he considered Three’s report. “What of the Accord class Battlestar?”

 

“The Triton according to the images we got from the Raiders,” clarified Three.

 

“We have three Basestars searching for the Triton. Once we remove it from the equation we can dedicate all our resources to destroying the Pegasus,” explained One as if it was a simple operation. 

 

Three couldn’t resist a dig at One, “That is assuming of course that no other Colonial Battlestars escaped.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Cell 3 - Triton

 

Richard Sparta rose as Six was escorted in to the cell where he sat on a folding chair, “Six, please take a seat. That will be all Marine.”

 

As Six sat her Marine escort left the cell leaving her alone with Richard.

 

“Would you like a drink Six? I have water or tea.”

 

Six shook her head and looked around puzzled before smiling and gesturing toward bunk in the corner. “Why am I here Colonel?”

 

Richard laughed and shook his head, “Perhaps twenty years ago Six but no. I want to discuss the best way to get you home to your people. I’m sure you can understand that we are loathe to organise any sort of prisoner transfer. Nor am I willing to try and negotiate a handover when your fleet next appears.”

 

“Why not drop me off in a Raptor?”

 

“That was my idea. Can you pilot a Raptor?”

 

Six shrugged, “Well enough I suspect.”

 

“Would you be able to communicate with your fleet if we did so?”

 

Six nodded looking cautious, “Yes, as long as there is communication equipment aboard. If not I could always travel to the nearest Cylon outpost.”

 

“Good….I’ll speak to Major Bracks as soon as possible. Do you need anything?” 

 

Six shook her head and stood her eyes never leaving Richard’s, “Colonel you understand that I believe in my peoples fight.”

 

“Of course but the revelations on that disk I gave you aren’t just about the war are they? I desire peace Six for that to happen in a way I can accept our peoples have to reach some sort of understanding. Even if that means we fight it out to some distant bloody victory. What I want for you is that you show your people the lies that One has used to fuel your hate. Truth is a dangerous thing Six but it can be deadly if you view the universe as a place where things are black and white.”

 

Richard called for the Marines and Six turned and left. He allowed himself to relax as the door swung shut. Six was stubborn and convinced she was in the right although if he was reading her correctly she was shocked by One’s revelations. If she could carry that anger back to the Cylon collective perhaps, just perhaps his risk might pay off.

 

oOoOoOo

Outer CAP perimeter picket - Raptor of lieutenant Mikhael 'Gorgon' Hobbin/ECO Lieutenant Amanda 'Skimmer' Collis

“Skimmer?”

 

“I’m on it. It’s right on the outer edge of our DRADIS range but it wasn’t there a moment ago so it’s definitely jumped in. I need to be closer….even with the POD we need to be a bit closer.”

 

“Right I’m calling it in. Gorgon to Triton.”

 

“Triton”

 

I have a long range contact on DRADIS that just jumped in. We are closing to identify.”

 

“Gorgon close to identify and then prepare to withdraw.”

“Understood Triton,” Gorgon turned to check on his ECO, “Skimmer?”

 

“I’ve got an IFF of friendly, repeat friendly it’s IFF is a Colonial Military transponder.”

 

“Triton the contact is IFF Colonial Military.”

 

“Acknowledged Gorgon. You are to visual the target and then challenge. Be advised that you have CAP Vipers inbound on your position.”

 

“Acknowledged Triton, Skimmer let me know if our boy does anything stupid.”

 

Skimmer’s fingers were flying as she tried to get as much information as possible out of her equipment. “Gorgon he’s jumping….Frak he’s gone.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

CIC - Triton

 

Kyle cursed as he watched the unknown Colonial contact appear and then disappear off the DRADIS screen.

 

“Triton, the Colonial contact has jumped.”

 

Emma keyed her wireless on, “Acknowledged continue your sweep Gorgon.”

 

“So does anyone want to give odds on where the contact came from?” said Kyle with a grim smile.

 

“Sir should we calculate a jump and notify the Priestess?” asked Scott Barrington.

 

“No…..calculate the jump and give the co-ordinates to the Princess but hold the jump. XO I want everything but the CAP on board ASAP and bring us to condition one. Inform CAG that I want all Vipers prepared for combat landings.”

 

“Action Stations all hands to action stations. Set condition one throughout the ship.”

 

“Sir what do you think?” asked Emma.

 

“I think that we had better hope it’s the Galactica,” replied Kyle.

 

“DRADIS Contact….a large contact it could be a Basestar. They are launching …….Sir I have their transponder…It is Colonial military. The fighters are also broadcasting as Colonial Military.”

 

“Send a hostile challenge to authenticate their codes,” ordered Kyle. “And someone request Colonel Sparta come to CIC immediately.”

 

“I’m here,” replied Sparta from just inside the hatch.

 

“Attention, unknown vessel: This is the Battlestar Triton. Identify yourself, or we will fire upon you.” 

 

“Sir the contact is re-orientating and changing course, Range now 2100.”

 

“Vessel claiming to be the Triton this is Galactica actual authenticate identity with recognition codes immediately.”

 

Kyle paused a moment before putting a wireless headset on. “Send our recognition codes.”

 

“Sir our code is sent and I’ve received theirs in return. They are authentic.” The last was said in a shocked tone.

 

“Give me a direct line,” ordered Kyle. “Galactica Actual this is Triton Actual. Commander Adama?”

 

“This is Adama to whom am I speaking Triton Actual?”

 

“Sir this is Major Kyle Brack acting commander of the Triton,” replied Kyle. 

 

"I understood that Commander Joesph Solis had command of the Triton."

 

"Commander Solis died in the Cylon attack Sir."

 

"I see, perhaps it would be better if we postpone a full report until I can come aboard. For now we need to rejoin the fleet. Standby Major for jump co-ordinates."

 

oOoOoOo

 

"XO let's get everyone in to formation please."

 

Emma climbed up on to the steps of the raised platform Chief Grey had set up. "Get into ranks, people! Let's look sharp and get squared away." as she finished a loud chime sounded.

 

Kyle looked over at Emma, "Okay Commander Adama's Raptor is on the pad. Let's get everyone attention."

 

"Company attention," ordered Emma as the pad lowered to reveal a Raptor. As soon as it hit the ground the hatch opened and two armed marines emerged to stand on either side. Both looked serious and were focused on detecting any threats. A moment later an older man stepped out in the uniform of a commander. Another younger man followed a Captain in a pilots dress uniform. The next out of the hatch was a middle aged woman in a business suit. Last out of the hatch were clearly the Raptors pilot and ECO.

 

Kyle stepped forward and saluted, "Commander Adama, welcome aboard the Triton."

 

Adama returned the salute, "Major, it's an honor and a pleasure to see that others escaped. Let me present to you the President of the Colonies Laura Roslin."

 

President Roslin looked a bit awkward as Kyle saluted but quickly stuck her hand out. "Major seeing you and your crew is a gift from the Gods." Kyle smiled politely and gently shook her hand. "I am sure you have quite a story to tell Major."

 

"Madam President that is an understatement,” replied Kyle.

 

As they shook hands again applause were quickly followed by cheers as the crew of the Triton celebrated finding their brethren.

 

At the back of the flight deck Harry, Hermione and Daniel stood watching the arrival. When the applause started Daniel pulled his two companions back in to the relative quiet of the crew mess. Daniel looked around the empty room before running his hand through his hair.

 

"Daniel what is it?" asked Hermione.

 

"The pilot of the Commanders shuttle is a Cylon."


	8. Chapter 8

Gods among us - A Harry Potter and Battlestar Galactica crossover

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

The events here happen after the events shown in the Season 1 Episode - You can't go home again

Last time:

At the back of the flight deck Harry, Hermione and Daniel stood watching the arrival. When the applause started Daniel pulled his two companions back in to the relative quiet of the crew mess. Daniel looked around the empty room before running his hand through his hair.

"Daniel what is it?" asked Hermione.

"The pilot of the Commanders shuttle is a Cylon."

Chapter 8

Gemenon Traveler

Two or as he preferred to be known Leoben studied the human sitting opposite him in the mess hall and smiled. The young woman smiled back before returning her attention to her food. She was a pretty woman with red hair and a light scattering of freckles across her nose. Sometimes it was hard to see humanities baser, sinful side but he had no doubt it was there.

Still there was hope. Gods plan was not without purpose and perhaps a new permutation would present itself that would allow some of his sinful children to survive. Perhaps the woman might find her own path to God and salvation.

"Leah," said the young woman as she extended her hand. "Leah Hay"

Leoben took her long fingered hand and gently shook it. "Leoben Conoy."

"So Leoben I haven't seen you before and I thought I'd seen everyone aboard the GT."

Leoben shrugged, "I usually eat a bit later."

Leah smiled, "Ah that's probably it. My engineering shift usually ends early so I'm one of the first here." She made a face, "Although I'm not sure why I'm rushing here this is Gods awful."

Leoben nodded, "True…ah well Leah it was nice to meet you." Standing he gave her a little wave and left dumping his tray in the receptacle as he left the mess. Normally he would have enjoyed a conversation with Leah if for no other reason than to alleviate his desire for simple conversation. However he had a scheduled meeting with One.

Leah looked a bit disappointed but gave him a smile, "Okay well hopefully I'll see you around Leoben."

He quickly made his way to the small storeroom he had been using as a meeting point. It was out of the way and more importantly the route to here avoided security cameras. One had not shown up for their last meeting. Given the difficulties that moving between ships entailed; even for Brother Cavil that wasn't too unexpected.

Leaning against the wall, in the shadows of the bulkhead he settled in to wait. An hour later he returned to the small space he had established for himself. One had once more failed to appear so he settled in to wait. For a moment he considered the memory of the smiling face of Leah. There were moments where he questioned what will be. Intellectually he understood the plan but occasionally he met a human that seemed to challenge his definitions.

Laying back he examined his own question in the light of God. He had long seen that God's works were marvellous and all-encompassing. So if there was a way to save the best of humanity then it would become apparent.

oOoOoOo

Commanders Office - Battlestar Triton

"Major you have done an amazing job getting Triton operational again," said William Adama as he took a sip of his ambrosia.

"Thank you Sir," replied Kyle Brack. "But as I am sure you realise the crew have stepped up fantastically."

Laura Rosin shook her head a smile on her face as she leaned forward replacing her tea cup on to its saucer, "I have to ask Major how did you survive afterwards and have you encountered any other survivors beside the transport you have with you?"

Kyle shared a troubled look with Colonel Richard Sparta before replying. A move that rang alarm bells for Adama.

"Sir that is a part of a number of complicated issues," replied Sparta.

Adama frowned as he studied the two officers sitting on the opposite side of the table. "Colonel, Major?"

Brack straightened in his chair, "Sir we encountered several vessels who had been attacked by privateers. We also have proof that a Colonial Battlestar has been engaging in what could only be called piracy. Our evidence is clear that the Battlestar Pegasus has been stripping merchant ships and murdering their crews. We have survivors from one incident aboard."

Adama removed his glasses and rubbed at the bridge of his nose, "Dear Gods the Pegasus, that is Admiral Cain's ship. What in hades does she think she is doing?"

"I have no idea Commander but it was my intention on encountering the Pegasus to attempt to remove Admiral Cain from command to face a court martial."

Adama took a deep breath and nodded, "I won't condemn a senior officer without strong evidence. Not given our current situation."

"You may have free access to all the evidence that we have gathered," promised Brack.

Roslin looked over at Brack, "I will need that evidence as well major; it is entirely possible that there may be criminal charges as well."

Brack nodded, "Of course Ma'am."

Sparta looked Adama in the eye, "Commander there is something else. We have also received a great deal of vital intelligence. It could prove pivotal to any positive outcome to this conflict. This...information and its source may well be in danger if we shared it with the wrong people."

"What sort of intelligence source are we talking about here Colonel?" asked Adama.

"We have a Cylon defector aboard."

Roslin gasped but Adama's expression didn't change except for his narrowed eyes. "Please explain Colonel."

Sparta spent the next twenty minutes explaining about Daniel, Six and One. Then he pulled out his pad and played the video of One's 'confession'.

At the end of the video Adama looked furious, "I've seen him on board Galactica, a priest. Are you telling me that he's another Fraking Cylon?"

"We've seen one on Ragnar Station now this Gods how many different human looking Cylons are out there?" asked a pale Roslin.

Sparta shrugged, "There are twelve different humanoid Cylons. How many copies are in the fleet? We don't know but that's a problem we actually have a potential solution for. Daniel has been going through the photos from the Triton's personnel records and identifying any of his brethren. So far we have haven't come across every model but we do have pictures for all the ones we have seen."

"And you trust this...Cylon to identify his own people?" asked Adama. His disbelief was clear.

"Yes I do," replied Sparta without hesitation.

Adama turned to Brack, "Major?"

"Daniel has played it straight with us so far Sir."

"And the female Cylon, Six?" asked Adama.

Sparta smiled grimly, "Oh she's interesting. Her reaction when she saw One's rant was horrified disbelief followed by anger. If she had a weapon she would have killed the bastard for us. That's why I'm convinced that we can use her. We don't risk anything by trying and the potential payoff for letting Six go is huge. Her report can sow discord in their ranks. Hades we may even get more defectors. If nothing else we now know that support for their war was not universal. If we can show the dissenters among the Cylons that One manipulated them?"

"If what we know is true Colonel," said Roslin cautiously although her expression was thoughtful. "We can't forgive and forget what the Cylons have done. They attempted genocide Colonel and yes if you are right then perhaps determination of the guilty is a lot more complicated than it was five minutes ago. I'll admit that my first reaction is to dispose of them. I understand your point but it doesn't absolve them of responsibility. They've still played their parts in this."

"As soldiers who have been lied to; we have proof Ma'am. I'm not defending their actions but this is an opportunity of incredible proportions."

Adama shot Sparta an incredulous look before shaking his head, "No it's not Colonel, they are all complicit in the near complete genocide of our species. I refuse to make a deal with one of our enemies. Interrogate them, find out what they really know then dispose of them like the fraking machines they are."

"Even if this deal gives humanity a chance to survive this?" asked Sparta calmly.

"I refuse to deal with a Cylon. The machines should be tossed out the nearest airlock," said Adama. "I want them interrogated properly and then disposed of before they put the fleet in danger."

"This potential intelligence effects all the survivors Commander and therefore it falls under the purlieu of the government," stated Roslin calmly but there was steel in her voice even if his words were calmly spoken.

"You cannot be considering this madness...it's a Cylon plot," Adama was looking at Roslin incredulously. 'We've just, barely avoided their last ploy and you want to jump in to another?"

"Perhaps it is a Cylon plot," allowed Roslin. "But it remains a political decision and I will not summarily pull it off the table as a possibility. That doesn't mean that we will do it but it does have possibilities. If nothing else this Cylon can give us his people that are in the fleet already."

Adama threw Roslin a cold look, "Perhaps, but it is my people that will pay the price if you are wrong."

"If the full Cylon fleet catches us we are finished. Or perhaps we will run out of Tylium or food. We cannot continue on as we are. I am no military expert Commander but even I know that we cannot win a war of attrition when the enemy has the ability to replenish its resources. So if I can even the odds, even slightly I'll look at opportunities to do so."

Adama sat back in his chair, "Fine but I want the Cylons interrogated by my people. So far I have heard nothing that convinces me that this is anything other than a convoluted deception. I don't think it's an unreasonable request."

Roslin studied Adama. She knew that he had no idea where the thirteenth tribe was located. By agreeing to keep that to herself she had forced him to accept her political leadership. He of course controlled the military and the arrival of the Triton had seemingly strengthened his position but this business with the Cylon defector must be an unwelcome factor for Adama. No doubt he feared that she may choose to exploit it politically. "Of course Commander, I would however have to insist on being present, just so that we can say that the accords were adhered to."

"Of course," replied Adama with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. "However in the meantime I'll have Colonel Tigh organise for to Marines pick up the One masquerading as a priest immediately. We have no idea how the Cylons have been tracking the fleet. For all we know it's in contact with them."

Adama redirecting his gaze to the two officers sitting opposite him, "Gentlemen I really hope that's all you are springing on us tonight."

Sparta didn't react but Brack flinched which didn't go unnoticed.

"Major?"

"We have another...discovery that may well be as significant as the Cylons."

oOoOoOo

Harry looked across the hanger deck toward the Raptor pilot talking with one of Triton's own pilots. He made an effort to be inconspicuous and blend in by seemingly examining the repairs done on one of the Triton's Raptors. Across the other side of the deck Hermione was getting herself in to position to protect others should the Cylon choose to draw her side arm or indeed made any sort of aggressive move.

"Harry, a word please."

Harry turned to see Chief Grey and Rebeka watching him curiously, "What can I do for you Chief?"

"What are you doing?"

Harry risked a glance over at the pilot who was drinking from mug as she listened to her fellow pilot, "Er...I've been checking the Raptor over."

Rebeka grinned, "Really...hmmm so not checking out the Raptor pilot. I don't think Hermione would be best pleased."

"What...no hang on," spluttered Harry.

Chief Grey smiled, amused at Harry's embarrassed response, "Rebeka's only joking lad but seriously you've been watching her for the last half an hour. Is there something wrong?"

"No...really she just looked like an old friend of mine."

Gray looked unconvinced but didn't seem inclined to argue, "Well whatever the reason one of them is headed over now."

The Raptor's ECO walked over to them after having been pointed out by one of the deck crew.

The ECO made his way over stopping in front of the Chief, "Chief Grey?"

"Yes Sir," replied the Chief.

"It's Crashdown Chief. We just noted a fault and Boomer wanted to know if we would be able to get someone to have a look at the air filters? They've been a bit touchy. We had them looked at on Galactica but the fault light is now coming on as soon as we cycle the system up."

"Bek can you please give the Raptor the once over. Harry you help her out. I'll contact the deck chief on Galactica and see if we can work out what parts you need. We've got the parts so there is no reason not to swap the filters out if you need to."

Rebeka grinned, "Okay Chief, come on Harry." Rebeka grabbed a repair kit and threw it to Harry. "You get to hump the gear."

The rather bemused looking Galactica officer followed along behind as a laughing Chief Grey turned away and walked over to the wireless station.

Boomer watched Triton's two engineers as they pulled the air filter unit free of its housing. She would normally supervise but they seemed competent and Crashdown was keeping an eye on them. Hopefully they could get the unit working well enough to get the Raptor back to Galactica for Tyrol to fix. Satisfied that everything was under control she turned back to her pre-flight checklist. With everything going on at the moment it was a relief to immerse herself in the comfortable, repetitive routine.

A few minutes later she was interrupted by a tap on her shoulder, "Excuse me Ma'am could you power up the system."

"Sure, here you go," Boomer powered up the system and the status light stayed green this time. "Green, great what was it a loose connection?"

Harry gestured toward Rebeka who pointed up at the unit. "They were pretty dirty and the points were worn so we just swapped them out. The system was reading them as malfunctioning so it should be fine now. Okay Harry lets pack it up."

Boomer raised an eyebrow in surprise, "That's all it was?"

Rebeka turned back with a polite smile, "Yes Sir, you may want to get an engineer to have a look at your auxiliary power distribution. It's fluctuating a bit. Within limits but still it looks like the unit might be on its way out."

Boomer winced, "I'll let the Chief know."

"I think Chief Grey was going to get your Chief on wireless to see what else we might have that you need. Have a safe flight Lieutenant. Okay Harry let's go."

Harry nodded and picked up their equipment before following Rebeka out.

Crashdown came forward and grinned at Boomer, "Chief will be pleased that they've got parts. Maybe we can score a few ration packs….we've got room for a few boxes."

"Yep and I want to be court martialed. Lucky we were over here when it went. Still check with Chief Tyrol and see if there is anything."

"You got it boss," replied Crashdown as he headed aft. The ECO mad a mental note to speak with the Chief and Major Adama about the apparent availability of parts and supplies. He had watched the deck crew eating what looked like fresh food and from what he had seen they were conducting repairs with new parts. With resupply unlikely the fact the Triton had parts was important.

As Harry walked away from the Raptor he considered what Daniel had said about the pilot being Cylon. She looked and acted totally normally. He wasn't expecting to be able to 'tell' she was a Cylon but he was still surprised that a Cylon living among humans could be so calm. Shaking his head he made his way over to Hermione.

Hermione gestured toward the Raptor where the ECO was talking to the refueling crew, "Let's go and have a talk with Daniel."

oOoOoOo

As soon as Commander Adama was on the wireless Sparta took Major Brack by the arm and lead him over to the refreshment table.

"This isn't going to end well Kyle."

Kyle glanced over to where the President was making notes before tuning back and offering a shrug, "He has every right to be concerned. Hades, I'm still concerned Colonel."

"If Adama does push this... if we allow this, we can kiss goodbye any alliance we have with Harry and Hermione. Can you see them sitting by while Daniel is mistreated much less executed?"

"Then they'll have to learn. This situation is bigger than two people Colonel you know that."

Sparta shook his head, "So you believe we should just throw away the opportunity, what it represents?"

"Truthfully...no. But it is not our decision. Once commander Adama gets all the facts he'll see that we have an opportunity . As for Harry and Hermione they'll need to be patient and allow the Commander and the President to work through the information."

Sparta was about to reply when Adama reentered the room. As the commander poured himself a water Sparta found himself shifted his gaze to the President. Laura Roslin returned his gaze calmly her expression inscrutable. After a few moments she gave him a slight nod before turning her attention back to her notes.

oOoOoOo

Life Stations

Daniel was just finishing up his shift in Life Stations when he saw Harry and Hermione walk in. He gave them a wave and disappeared in to the storage room.

The nurse on duty smiled warmly at Hermione as she drew the curtains around her sleeping patient. "Are you on duty Hermione?"

"No Arella, just meeting up with Daniel. I'm on again tomorrow; do you need help with something?"

Arella shook her head, "No it's pretty quiet at the moment. It won't last of course but we should thank the gods while it does."

Daniel emerged from the storage room dressed in his civilian clothes. "I've finished the handover notes so if everything is under control I'll head off."

Arella smiled and flicked her fingers, "Go on I'm fine here."

The corridor outside Life Stations was empty save for a few crewmen walking to and from their duty stations. Daniel waited until the corridor was clear before glancing at his two companions. "We need to find Sparta."

Harry nodded, "I know but it's our word against one of their officers. What's the penalty for making an accusation you can't prove?"

Daniel shrugged, "She is an Eight and I have no idea of what her beliefs are but she is here and she is a Colonial officer that is…dangerous. From the little bit I've heard from Doctor Jackson they were on the run for days and the Cylons kept finding them. To me that means something or someone was leading them back to the fleet."

"So do well tell someone?" asked Hermione. "Surely we need to let them know."

Harry shook his head as he pulled the hatch open to his quarters, "I don't know what the right thing to do is. Bloody hell I don't know if there is a right choice, so we tell Colonel Sparta and let him work it out."

Harry and Hermione sat at the small table, leaving the bed to a worried looking Daniel.

"I don't disagree it's just I wish I knew what she was here for. Is she a spy or is she like me? You two don't have all the emotional baggage the Colonials do so you have given me your support. Sparta is trying to use me to help his own plans along but at least he gave us a hearing. Now after my people attacked them how many Sparta's are left out there?"

Hermione shook her head, "I hope that this Commander Adama is as open minded but if he isn't...we'll think of something. We won't leave you behind."

"What about the President, could we appeal to her?" asked Harry.

Daniel shrugged, "I don't know much about her besides the fact that she must have been appointed as the President after the attacks. I saw a news report on her I think she had something to do with Education."

Hermione grimaced, "So the same problem as Adama then, we just don't know."

"What we need," began Harry "Is a plan in case we get separated. It may be too late if we're locked up separately, or worse. I can make a portkey to somewhere like our ship but what the hell do we do after that?"

Hermione shook her head, "Our ships no good, it doesn't work and they will most certainly look there. What about a Raptor. Daniel, you said you could fly one?"

Daniel nodded slowly, "I could but where would we go?"

"What about to the pilots ready room?" asked Daniel. "It's only a couple of steps to where the Raptors are. The only problem then is getting it launched. They are hardly going to raise the pad and give us permission launch."

Hermione bit her lip as she quickly made a few Arithmancy calculations. After a few moments she seemed to reach a conclusion, "Harry would we be able to make a Raptor a portkey?"

"I….actually I don't know if there is any sort of weight restriction or anything. I don't know if anyone has ever tried….." Harry trailed off as he considered Hermione's idea. "Actually it should work but what about the electronics on the Raptor?"

"Well using magic has interfered with some systems on Triton but they've come back online pretty much straight away," replied Hermione.

"Okay so that is our plan B. Now what do we use as portkeys?"

"Underwear?" suggested Harry.

Hermione and Daniel both raised an eyebrow.

"Well they may take our other gear and if they do then we are already touching the portkey, "explained Harry. "If we make it voice activated it's a pretty good chance you won't lose it and we'll put an Auror recall on it. That means that a second activation word will activate all three portkeys."

Hermione thought Harry's plan through looking for faults before nodding, "Good idea, let's get them done. I hope we are wrong but …"

"Yes but…," replied Harry.

Shortly all three were wearing portkeys. Harry set the activation phrase as Snape and the Auror recall as Dumbledore mainly because of the absolutely unlikely scenario of them being used in normal conversation.

Daniel looked relieved that they "Okay so.."

All three nearly jumped when there was a knock on the hatch. Harry glanced at Hermione who nodded and drew her wand. Moving to the hatch slipped his own wand in to his hand before he opened the hatch.

Emma Boyd was standing outside with two armed Marines. A tense moment followed before Emma gestured for the Marines to step back. "I thought Daniel might be with you after the nurse said you left Life Stations together."

Harry raised an eyebrow, "Can we help you Lieutenant?"

"The President and Commander Adama have been briefed in and want to interview you all."

Harry nodded, "May I ask why you have armed Marines?"

Emma waved away Harry's unspoken concerns, "Not for you. The Major thought it might look better if Daniel is escorted to the meeting."

Harry looked about to object but Hermione quickly intervened, "Then they can escort us as well."

Harry shot Daniel and Hermione a concerned look when they turned down a familiar passage toward the brig. Daniel simply looked resigned but when he glanced at Hermione she simply shook her head slightly.

Hermione understood Harry's concern but as Emma hadn't asked for their wands she could only assume that the Colonials were not planning anything untoward. Still Harry's instincts were usually good so she would remain vigilant in case they needed to react quickly.

When the finally reached the brig they turned in to a room guarded by two Marines. It was the same room they had been briefed in by Sparta when they had been working on their plan for interrogating One. Already seated at the table were Sparta and Brack along with an older man and woman.

Harry took a moment to study the man he took to be Commander Adama. He looked like a no nonsense professional. For a moment their eyes met and Harry noted how tired Adama looked. There were bags under his eyes and his lined face showed his fatigue. Still the eyes were alert and Harry promised himself that he wouldn't underestimate the older man.

The woman was not in a uniform but rather what looked like a muggle business suit. Harry studied her for a moment, realising that she must be the President.

Adama gestured to the three hard backed metal chairs arranged in front of him, "Please take a seat."

Harry waited for Daniel and Hermione to take their seats before sitting beside Hermione. He noted but didn't comment on the two armed marines standing against the wall.

Adama studied them for a long moment before his eyes settled on Daniel.

"I've heard all about your little arrangement Cylon. What I want to know is why I shouldn't have you locked up in the brig?"

Daniel looked up and locked eyes on Adama, "If you have heard my story you know why Commander. I'm no enemy of your people."

Roslin cleared her throat, "I have a question Daniel. You left your people behind why didn't you try to warn anyone else. If you believe that some of your people were being manipulated why not warn the others?"

"When One killed me Ma'am I downloaded and fled the resurrection ship. At that point I tried to contact my brother Sevens but they were all dead. When I tried to contact one of the Two's I was friendly with there was no reply and then not an hour later four Raiders attacked the Heavy Raider I was using. At that point I…..I panicked and jumped away from Cylon space."

Roslin nodded, "A difficult decision."

Daniel shrugged, "Fear and cowardice….I am not a warrior Madam President my interests are less martial."

Adama's expression didn't change as he continued to study Daniel, "You've convinced others of that now you need to convince me."

"If you know my story already then I fear nothing else I can say will convince you Commander. Once I realised the threat One represented I couldn't remain quiet. I knew I risked just such a reaction as this but I still chose to act."

Adama gave a small shrug, "Believe me Cylon it is one of reasons I am humouring the Colonel by listening to you at all."

Harry saw Daniel's wince when Adama said Cylon, "His name is Daniel."

Adama turned his gaze toward Harry, "Ah our other guests. I will give you the same opportunity as I'm giving it. You can explain why you've chosen to betray your people. Treason toward the twelve colonies is still punishable with death. I'd call aiding Cylons to infiltrate a Battlestar treason."

"Commander Adama," warned Roslin.

Harry looked at Adama with dislike, a fact evident in his expression, "I'm not a citizen of your twelve bloody colonies you arse."

"Harry!" protested Hermione.

"No Mione, I've had enough of these people's paranoid shit. Listen Commander you don't trust us after all we've done, fine. Although I fail to see how saving lives and repairing things could be construed as working to your detriment. We'll bloody well leave, give us our frigging ship and find our own way back to Earth and we'll take Daniel with us."

"Earth," whispered Roslin in surprise causing Harry to turn and look at her.

Harry didn't see Adama flinch at the mention of Earth and by the time he looked back Adama looked unmoved.

"Harry don't!" warned Daniel.

Sparta cleared his throat, "I think we need to calm down. Harry, Hermione I'm sure you can understand that the President and Commander Adama need to get to the truth of the matter considering the fact they are responsible for what is left of the Colonies."

Harry looked ready to give the Colonials another mouthful when he felt Hermione's hand squeezing his leg.

Hermione took a moment, making sure Harry wasn't going to continue. When he didn't she addressed Adama in a calm even voice. "I don't know what you are hoping to achieve Commander. Nor do I care. If you do not wish the assistance we can offer we shall leave. If you persecute our friend we will take him with us when we leave. I am grateful to the crew of the Triton for our rescue and for their care since. Our agreement was with Major Brack and Colonel Sparta and we have worked hard to repay our debt and honour our agreement. If things have changed…..then things have changed. Right now I am disinclined to play this game Commander."

Adama let a little anger show as he leaned forward, "Game…you think this is game? Perhaps some time cooling your heels in the brig will help your understanding; Marines escort these three to the brig."

"Commander," protested Roslin as both Sparta and Brack stiffened in their seats.

Sparta looked like he was about to intercede when Hermione shook her head, "You have no way of knowing Commander but Harry and I fought our own war. We've both bled and suffered for our people. I've been tortured and threatened by enemies far more dangerous than you. I will not submit without a fight to such again."

Harry tightened his grip on his wand, "Too bloody right Hermione….If either of those Marines takes one step closer to my girlfriend I won't be responsible for his injuries."

Adama gestured and the two Marines stopped moving.

"Fine, then start talking," ordered Adama.

"About what?" demanded Harry, "You haven't asked us anything Commander."

Adama's cold expression didn't change, "The Cylon….Daniel first; I want to know why you are here?"

"I'm here Commander because I followed my conscience and stood against One and his corruption of my peoples destiny. An act that has seen me running ever since," Daniel gestured at the wall. "One wants humanity destroyed. I can help you fight against that. That's the bargain I want. I'll help you defeat One but I'm doing it to save my people as much as saving humanity. Our destiny was to return to live amongst our creators not this."

Adama studied Daniels face before answering, "Let's assume that I accept that. What assistance are you offering, tactics, intelligence?"

"I'm not a warrior and any tactical information I might have is decades out of date. But I probably know more about how my brethren think than anyone in this fleet. I know history, both ours and yours and I'm a skilled medic. To put it bluntly for sanctuary with your fleet I'm offering to help you survive to the best of my abilities."

"You think that is enough to keep you out of the brig?" asked Adama.

"Frankly yes I do," replied Daniel.

"I don't. Colonel Sparta and Major Brack have made your case but I'm still not convinced. You are a walking security risk and as such I am unwilling to offer you free access to sensitive Military areas. Until I can address this with the relevant people I'm ordering you to be confined to secure quarters. You'll be escorted to other areas of the ship by Marines."

Daniel slowly nodded a resigned expression on his face.

Harry snorted in disgust and Adama focused his attention on him.

"I have heard that you have some special abilities. I would like a demonstration to prove that you have the ability to help us."

"No, I think I'll pass," replied Harry as he crossed his arms. "I'm afraid that I'm unconvinced of your sincerity Commander. I offered my services for my freedom once before and yet days later here I am again."

Adama looked to Hermione who coolly returned his gaze, "Miss Granger are you going to co-operate?"

Hermione gestured with her wand and a glass appeared on the desk. She then filled the large glass with conjured water. "There you go Commander a demonstration. However I too withdraw my services as it appears that our arrangement is at an end."

Before Adama's astonished eyes Harry and Hermione stood. "Perhaps you should show us to our cells Commander."

oOoOoOo

Colonial One – Presidents Office

President Roslin laid the file she had been reading on the desk as she considered Commander Adama's interrogation and the fruits of her own investigation undertaken since leaving the Triton. The Cylon calling itself Daniel had been an asset in the Tritons sick bay, or life stations as they still called it. Doctor Jackson had made it clear that regardless of his nature Daniel had been well liked and professional medic whose work was above reproach. The former captain of the Athena's Bow had also spoken well of Daniel's service aboard his ship.

Sparta's report was clear about the facts. Daniel had offered itself up after it realised that the other Cylon One had been aboard the Priestess. One was, in its own words dedicated to the end of humanity. A plan Daniel disagreed with on moral grounds. Then there were its claims that the Cylons were being deceived by a faction led by One who had, apparently manipulated his brethren in to declaring war on Humanity.

If that was true and Sparta was right then Daniel was a huge asset, as were the two other Cylons currently in Tritons brig, although admittedly for very different reasons.

Could it be true, were the Cylons as a race guilty or was that view too simplistic? Was there a future opportunity to make peace with their attackers? Could Colonel Sparta's ambitious plan work?

Then there were the other two prisoners. The report from Sparta, Doctor Jackson and the engineering crew read like a fantasy novel and for a brief moment she had considered them some sort of joke. Yet lives had been saved thanks to their miraculous powers. When she had finished re-reading her notes she found that her hands were shaking. Miracles and religious mysteries captured on paper along with dry facts. Rubbing her temples she tried to clear her thoughts and ease her incipient headache. Gods and demi-gods were mentioned in the Colonies religious texts ….could it be? Could they be messengers of the gods? The water Hermione had created was astonishing but according to the report on her desk it was but the tip of the iceberg.

These were important questions, no vital questions that needed answers. Firstly she needed to find the truth and for that she needed advice. To get it she would need to act quickly before Adama forced the situation.

oOoOoOo

"You can go in Doctor they've only just started," the Presidents aide waved him past as he opened the heavy curtain.

Gaius Baltar nodded to Laura Roslin and the Priestess Elosha as he quickly took a seat. A moment later Six appeared and sat on the arm of his chair, idly stroking his hand as she shifted slightly and whispered in his ear. "Pay attention Gaius."

"Doctor?" prompted Roslin.

Baltar focused on Roslin.

"Are you alright Doctor?"

"Fine…fine thank you just a bit tired."

Roslin turned in her chair and addressed the guard standing near the curtain. "Robert, could you please clear the area and see to it that we are not disturbed?"

"Yes Ma'am," replied the guard as he pulled the heavy curtain closed behind him.

"I have here two topics that are…..well they are probably the strangest thing I've ever seen in my life. They have given me a situation where I find myself questioning what I know. Just after the attack on the Colonies the Triton was conducting extensive repair to the FTL systems. They had, I'm told jumped very close to the red line in an attempt to escape the Cylon attack once their core systems began to fail. There they encountered a strange vessel adrift in space. After taking the vessel aboard they quickly realised that it did not conform to any known design."

"A Cylon ship?" asked Baltar.

"No Gaius it's far more important than that," Six whispered in his ear at the same time as the President responded.

"No, not Cylon," replied Roslin. "Something else Doctor, something our fleet engineers are still struggling to understand."

"You need to see this Gaius," whispered Six.

"I would be happy to have a look at it. I am not an expert on ship designs but I've see a lot of what was on the drawing board at the ministry of defence."

"Thank you for the offer Doctor I'll clear it with Major Brack. Now, the crew of the ship are another mystery. Both are human as far as we can tell. The full briefing file will I am sure make for interesting reading but for now the pertinent fact is my unsubstantiated belief that they are not from the twelve colonies," Roslin paused to let the other two process what she said.

Elosha was the first to react verbally, "Not from the colonies…Madam President…Laura how can that be?"

"They are travellers from afar Gaius, Adrift In time and space...the warrior and the seeker." whispered Six.

"Impossible," gasped Baltar.

Roslin smiled at her guests replies, "I assure you both that they are very real. The truth is that right now we don't know all that much about where they are from or how they arrived where they did. According to an officer on Triton who studied linguistics, they spoke an ancient dialect akin to Old Gemenese."

"Merciful Gods," whispered Eloshia. "Could they be from Kobol or a lost colony….the thirteenth tribe?"

"We don't know," admitted Roslin. "So far the crew of the Triton has avoided pressing them on their origins given their own dire circumstances. Due to the initial language difficulties there was a misunderstanding so there was some friction thanks to which our two guests are now being rather cautious."

"What happened?" asked Baltar. "No wait let me guess the military threatened them or accused them of being Cylons?"

Roslin raised an eyebrow, "A very good guess Doctor."

Baltar shrugged away the compliment, "So what are we going to do?"

"I want to arrange for us three to question them without Adama turning it into another confrontation," Roslin frowned. "The second parts of this problem are the other…guests on Triton. I think it will save some time if you simply read the brief. It is short enough but this must be held, for now in the strictest confidence."

Roslin handed both her guests copies of the briefing folder on Daniel and the two Cylon prisoners.

Six gasped causing Baltar to almost drop the folder. "Gaius you must help this Daniel he is important. Do you understand Gaius? The Warrior and the Seeker are the travellers. They stand behind him stretching out their hands to humanity and their children."

Baltar suddenly sat upright, "This Daniel is a Cylon defector he…he could be the key to our survival!"

Eloshia finished reading and sighed but said nothing.

"As this One tried to the architect of our fall," said Roslin as she turned on the monitor. A few moments later the image of one appeared.

"If you think that imprisoning me here is going to help your hopeless cause you are mistaken. Humanity is doomed to die, no wait you are already dead. You just haven't realised it yet. The last remnants caught in our net."

When the recording ended Eloshia and Baltar both looked stunned by the videos revelations that One had manipulated events.

"Before Daniel's…nature was made clear he had already been caring for our two visitors, whom he befriended while they stayed in Medical. They were partly responsible for Daniel coming forward with what he knew. As of earlier this evening all three are locked in the brig on Triton by order of Commander Adama."

"What is Adama playing at?" demanded Eloshia. "They healed the sick and dying. By the Lords of Kobol they are at the least priests of extraordinary talent."

"He believes it all to be a Cylon plot," explained Roslin.

"Then we need to come up with a way to either change his mind or force him to back down," explained Roslin.

oOoOoOo

Basestar 420

Two removed his hand from the Data stream with a puzzled expression on his face. The hybrid was worried about something. Not that he would ever convince One or indeed any of the others of that, save of course his brother Two's.

References to travellers, shepherds, the warrior and the seeker sounded religious. Normally something that would be easy for him to check but even with the entire religious works of the Cylon and the twelve colonies available he had been able to find only a few vague references.

Six shall see the truth and…seven shall show the way…..warning air seal 83638-j4897 requires maintenance…..Magnetic seal is fluctuating in airlock 4F-M34….. DRADIS contact Colonial military transponder….

"Identify," ordered a Six.

An Eight replied, "It's a Raptor...wait it's spinning up it's FTL... it has jumped."

"I was right the FTL jumps have all been fairly predictably along this same axis. It has to be Galactica."

oOoOoOo

And there ends chapter 8 – Lots of setting up done for chapter 9 and lot's of character work. For those that want more action worry not! it will be back next chapter


	9. Chapter 9

Gods among us - A Harry Potter and Battlestar Galactica crossover

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Special thanks to my Beta and Technical Guru XRaiderV1. Your fine work and suggestions (Not to mention the initial challenge to write this Fic) are greatly appreciated.

The events here happen after the events shown in the Season 1 Episode - You can't go home again

Last time:

Basestar 420

Two removed his hand from the Data stream with a puzzled expression on his face. The hybrid was worried about something. Not that he would ever convince One or indeed any of the others of that, save of course his brother Two's.

References to travellers, shepherds, the warrior and the seeker sounded religious. Normally something that would be easy for him to check but even with the entire religious works of the Cylon and the twelve colonies available he had been able to find only a few vague references.

Six shall see the truth and…seven shall show the way…..warning air seal 83638-j4897 requires maintenance…..Magnetic seal is fluctuating in airlock 4F-M34….. DRADIS contact Colonial military transponder….

"Identify," ordered a Six.

An Eight replied, "It's a Raptor...wait it's spinning up its FTL... it has jumped."

"I was right the FTL jumps have all been fairly predictably along this same axis. It has to be Galactica."

Chapter 9

Galactica – Brig

One cursed as he considered his position. He had initially planned to talk his way clear of what he had assumed to be a minor issue. Perhaps he had been with Two and been recognised on a security camera. He should have been able to explain away such a 'coincidental' contact.

It was soon clear that he had miscalculated at the moment he was referred to as One. Obviously the Colonials had twigged to his identity and his nature. Perhaps they had captured one of his brother One's. Regardless his mission here was at an end. It was up to Two and Five to complete their missions now.

oOoOoOo

Triton – Brig

Harry ignored the faint sounds made by the Marine guard outside his cell. He was absolutely furious about the sequence of events that had led to him being in the tiny cell. It was very, very tempting to simply activate his portkey and leave. The fools hadn't even taken his wand which the Triton crew should have realised was the course of wisdom.

What stopped him was the lack of viable options. Escaping the cell would be easy, stealing a raptor not so easy. Escaping pursuit in a raptor with limited fuel and oxygen….he honestly didn't know. Their ship was useless as it didn't appear functional but it was also the device that had brought them here so abandoning it was not necessarily a good option either. It could be their only way home.

But far more worrying was that he hadn't seen or heard Hermione or Daniel since he was locked up. Through the small Perspex window he had a limited view of only one other cell and it was empty. He hadn't tried calling out….yet for risk of provoking the guards but his concern for them both was starting to play on his mind.

The sound of the door being unbolted had his hand sliding instinctively toward his magically concealed wand holster.

The door swung open and a marine stepped in followed by Colonel Sparta who carried a tray with a covered plate and a plastic mug.

"I know you haven't eaten Harry," said Sparta as he passed Harry the tray.

Harry made no move to take the tray, "Colonel where are Hermione and Daniel?"

"Both in cells here and they are both fine, look Harry I know this is asking a lot but I need you to co-operate while I work on getting you all out of here. I know it's asking a lot but cooperation is giving me the ammunition I need to talk Adama around."

Harry studied Sparta's face; the older man looked genuinely sincere. "I'm not sure what exactly you want from me, from us."

Sparta lay the tray on the steel bench that served as a bunk, "Harry I know that this is a poor way to reward your hard work but you must understand that we have to persuade President Roslin and Commander Adama that you three are assets to the colonies."

"So until or should I say if you achieve that what can I expect? We settle for being prisoners?"

"I am working on this I promise you," said Sparta.

Harry slowly nodded, "Fine but I want to see Hermione and Daniel."

Sparta almost winced but didn't look away, "I'll see what I can do. I'll be back soon Harry."

Harry wondered how long he should wait before taking action. If Sparta couldn't persuade Adama they would have to do something. What exactly was not something he had been able to decide. Simply stealing a raptor was perhaps the easiest option. The more he thought about it the more he was convinced that a raptor could function as Portkey. It would be potentially exhausting but it should be possible. It was times like this that he really needed Hermione's almost encyclopedic memory. His musing was interrupted when a shadow appeared outside the door just before the latch sounded and it swung open.

The new arrivals turned out to be Major Brack and three armed marines. Harry tensed and almost reached for his wand.

"Mr Potter, the President has requested a meeting with you."

Harry resisted the urge to ask why armed guards were needed to deliver a 'request'. "I see and will my friends be present Major?" Harry's tone was deliberately cold as he tried to clearly project his ire as he sat back on the narrow bunk next to the food tray Sparta had bought.

Brack remained stony faced as he nodded, "They will have their own interviews."

"I see...and if I refuse?"

"Then I will have to insist," replied the Colonial officer.

For a few moments Harry considered being difficult but in the end he simply nodded. As he stood two of the three marines tensed slightly. Harry slowly pulled his wand out and handed it over to Brack. The Major nodded and slipped it into his pocket looking considerably more relaxed. Harry almost grinned at the Major's assumption that he was now disarmed. Wandless magic was possible but difficult and one of the few spells he had mastered was the summoning charm. So if the worst happened he could always summon his wand back.

Harry followed the Marines passing the cell of Six who raised an eyebrow as if asking him a question as he passed. Whether by coincidence or by Brack's choice their route did not take him past either Hermione or Daniel's cell.

The room he was taken to was already occupied by President Roslin and two others. The three of them were seated at a simple metal table opposite them was a single metal chair. The man and woman who sat either side of the President were both watching him with evident curiosity. Roslin gestured toward the chair on the opposite side of the table so he sat and raised an eyebrow.

"Mister Potter, thank you for coming," said Roslin.

"I wasn't aware I had a choice," replied Harry.

Roslin glanced over at Brack before returning her attention to Harry, "Of course you do Mister Potter. I have been reviewing your file with my advisors. I had hoped that we could start our relationship afresh and be allowed to ask you a few questions."

Harry nodded warily. Roslin smiled in response to Harry's acceptance, "Excellent firstly let me introduce my advisors. Elosha is a priestess and very knowledgeable about both our beliefs and our history." The dark skinned Elosha nodded, offering him a polite smile. "Doctor Gaius Baltar is one of our few remaining scientists." Baltar gave him a friendly smile but to Harry the scientists eyes were rather calculating.

Roslin cleared her throat, "Before we go any further I want you to know that I am not in agreement with Commander Adama regarding your treatment since the Triton rejoined the fleet. Since your...um rescue you have, despite the crews suspicion worked to help them however you could. Doctor Jackson makes it very clear that you and Miss Granger have without doubt saved several lives. Your assistance with repairs has also been, well amazing."

Doctor Baltar shifted in his seat and looked ready to interrupt but subsided as the President continued.

"If you are willing we would like to ask you a few questions. I need to understand what is happening here Harry so that I can help you."

Harry looked over at the armed Marines in the room, "With all due respect President Roslin but I am not entirely sure what help you think that you can provide."

Roslin seemed to catch the unspoken reference to the military, "You must understand we are survivors of an attempt at genocide by the Cylons. Until the Triton's arrival we had hoped that others had survived but had assumed that they had not. Commander Adama is a veteran officer. It is his job to be cautious, doubly now that our civilian fleet relies on the military for protection."

Harry could understand responsibility and what it entailed. What rankled him about Adama however was the apparent instant dismissal of what he didn't understand, "I guess I can respect that."

Sensing that Harry was at least going to give her a hearing Roslin pressed on, "When I realised what had happened to the colonies...well I hated the Cylons for it, I really still do but by helping Daniel you have given me, us perspective. This One has perpetrated crimes against us and his own people. If you hadn't encouraged Daniel to come forward we wouldn't have known that the Cylons had been deceived and manipulated by one of their own and that is important. I am convinced that Daniel knows things that will help us survive and deal with his brethren in the future. His help in identifying possible infiltrators in the fleet is a good example of how he can help us."

"And what role do you see Hermione and I playing?" asked Harry.

"You have probably already guessed how urgent our needs are; Water, food, spare parts, fuel and medical needs are all just this side of a crisis," explained Roslin as she took off her glasses and seemingly unconsciously massaged her temple.

Harry hid a grimace at the Presidents words and obvious sincerity. The colonials really were in a bad way by the sound of it. The Triton hadn't really felt the effects of food or water deprivation so the reality of the fleet's position was sobering. "I empathise; I've lived through my own dark times. However I am also responsible for Hermione's safety as well as Daniel's. Since our unintentional arrival we have had to compromise and accept that your circumstances make your actions acceptable. Well as I said I empathise but we have our own issues. Hermione and I are a long way from home."

"You are trapped here because of your ship, the one you were recused from?" asked Baltar apparently rhetorically as he didn't wait for an answer. "I see from Colonel Sparta's notes that several of the Triton's crew have been working on it trying to decipher how it works and that they apparently haven't made much progress. As a trained scientist I may be able to help you with that issue."

"Sorry Doctor but I've been through this once already. I am not sure I want to enter into another agreement given that a similar one as just been reneged on by Adama."

"The difference is that I am offering the agreement this time. Maybe something similar to the civilians serving, like Doctor Baltar and answering to me," explained Roslin with a tight, humorless smile. "Commander Adama won't like it but I believe that once he sees what you offer he will realise what we have to gain."

"I won't negotiate from behind bars," said Harry.

"Then let's make that our first task then Mister Potter."

oOoOoOo

Galactica - Adama's Quarters

"I over reacted," admitted Adama as Saul Tigh poured him a drink.

Tigh grunted, "I wouldn't say that. The whole situation...well it's not like it's in the fraking ships standing orders is it?"

"I didn't want to believe it. It fraking pissed me off having a Cylon telling me I was wrong."

"Understandable," said Tigh.

Adama swirled the amber ambrosia around his glass before meeting his X.O's eyes, "Sparta's plan has merit and the implications...gods if what we have been told is true we can split the Cylon forces following us. A respite we can use to get some distance between us and them. We need to reestablish ourselves on a planet if we are going to survive."

"Cylons fraked us over Bill and while my first question would be can we risk doing a deal with one of them my second would be can we risk not doing it?"

"What a bloody mess. Roslin is going ballistic about the whole thing. Cylons, magic and gods know what else once we start down that road. The religious among us are going to jump on this one as well. Half the crew of the Triton thinks those two are bloody demi-gods."

Tigh knocked back his drink before replying, "You think that it's all talk?"

Adama shook his head, "No, too many people have seen things. Things they can't explain. The healing and the, I can't believe that I am saying this, abilities they've used to replicate items and repair others. Then there is their ship which our engineers can't even understand. No, they might not be gods but they as sure as hades do not come from the colonies."

"Could they be Cylons? I mean we know as a fact that there are at least three copies."

"Maybe but I don't think so. There are just too many things that don't add up." Adama sighed at shook his head. "Whatever he is Potter's got guts he stood his ground against me and basically told me to frak off. That's confidence speaking."

"Just great," mumbled Tigh "Another Thrace."

Adama gave a snort of laughter as he sipped his drink, "Question is how we play this? Sparta's pushing for me to meet with the Triton people again and get a better sense of what's been happening over there. Cylons aside the potential the other two represent isn't something we can walk away from. The way Sparta's talking they could solve all our supply problems, forget everything else that alone is a huge fraking thing."

"What about Earth?" asked Tigh. "You said they mentioned it in front of the school teacher."

Adama frowned as he finished his drink, "Yes they did. I'm not sure what to make of that. If they do know the location of Earth it would be a huge boost to morale."

Tigh raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. Adama had told the fleet that their destination was Earth. If they now had a real chance of reaching the thirteenth tribe it potentially changed everything including whatever deals Bill had been forced to make with the jumped up school teacher.

The wireless set on his desk buzzed as Adama sat his glass down. Glancing at his watch he noted the time 2144...well into the evening. Picking up the receiver he held it to his ear, "Adama."

"Sorry to bother you sir but we have the President on the line," reported the communications officer.

"Pipe it through I'll take it here," said Adama as the line clicked then reconnected. "Madam President?"

"Commander I'm sorry to interrupt your evening," the president's voice had absolutely no trace of any sincerity. "I've just walked out of a meeting with Mister Potter. Commander this cannot continue, we are squandering a huge opportunity here."

Adama winced despite knowing that this moment had been coming. "I agree but there are security issues we need to work out before we can proceed."

Roslin didn't reply for a long moment, no doubt surprised at his apparent change of position. "I see and so how long will we be seeing them locked up like criminals?"

Adama resisted the urge to curse. Roslin wasn't going to let this be, "Give me until the morning to work it out. Then we can bring them here to talk through the issues. There are some people I would like present."

"I will be present I assume?"

"Of course," Adama assured the President.

"I hope it's enough Commander we may have already badly damaged our relationship with Harry and Hermione."

"Ma'am you must understand the risk having a Cylon walking around a military vessel. We've already had one act of sabotage on board. I am willing to discuss this but I want my concerns addressed."

Another long pause preceded Roslin's answer, "I do understand but we need to come up with something acceptable."

"I'll work on it."

oOoOoOo

0830 – Battlestar Galactica – Arrivals Checkpoint

Aaron Doral hadn't heard from One this morning, not that he was all that concerned. The humans were struggling to keep inter-ship transport going and 'Brother Cavil' may well have been forced to wait for an available ship. His mission was fully planned regardless. He was to sow fear and dissent among the fleet. A bombing on board Galactica would serve his cause and with a resurrection ship within range his demise was merely an inconvenience.

Aaron nodded to the marine guard and placed his visitors pass around his neck. The visitors pass wouldn't get him where he needed to be but once he had gotten clear of the main corridor he could weave his way to where he needed to. He started to walk off when a second Marine appeared.

"Sir, excuse me but you will have to wait a moment."

Aaron nodded and reached in to his pocket for the bomb trigger. However it was immediately apparent that the two marines were focused on the arrival of a group wearing Battlestar Triton patches. Leading the group was a Colonial marine officer.

Aaron paused and watched, not unlike the other civilians nearby, albeit for very different reasons. The small crowd of civilians lent him anonymity from the two figures that had just walked in to sight, Adama and Tigh. Both of whom would recognise him.

He let himself drift to the back of the crowd careful to keep as many people as possible in the way. He could achieve a lot here if he waited until Adama approached. His homemade bomb wasn't that powerful but if he could get a bit closer he could almost certainly kill the Galactica' s commander. An act guaranteed to throw the fleet into chaos.

oOoOoOo

Colonel Sparta was relieved that Commander Adama had come around to a more reasonable position. To be honest he was surprised that it had happened so quickly. Perhaps the President had forced his change of heart but regardless of how the meeting that should have continued yesterday was finally about to happen. Even more importantly Harry, Hermione and Daniel had agreed to meet Adama again. Yesterday he had been almost convinced that Adama had managed to poison any chance of building trust.

As they passed Galactica's Marine guards he noted curiosity but no overt reaction. Adama had probably suppressed the news about Daniel. Understandable of course but as the crews talked his identity was bound to eventually come out.

Daniel slowed and looked at someone in the crowd. Just as he did Commander Adama and Colonel Tigh reached the group. Sparta should have acknowledged Adama and Tigh but alarm bells were ringing in his mind.

Daniel turned to Hermione who stood next to him and said something but before he could ask what was going on Hermione swung around and pointed her wand at a figure in the crowd.

Hermione called out something and there was a flash of red light.

"Drop the weapon!" screamed one of the Galactica's Marines as they pointed weapons at Hermione.

"Hold your fire!" ordered Adama and Sparta at almost the same time.

oOoOoOo

Adama looked up as Tigh and Sparta walked in.

"It was a bomb, homemade, maybe military gear I'm no expert but it looked like it's kind of cobbled together. We will need to get the master at arms to check it over to know where the explosives came from," said Tigh. "The fraker had the damn trigger in his hand. He's currently being moved to the brig. Whatever she did Doc Cottle said he's out cold."

Adama nodded, "How did she know?"

Sparta shook his head, "We got lucky Daniel recognised the Cylon, he knows him as four and saw him holding something in his hand. He told Hermione who stunned him."

"Lucky alright if he had detonated it they would be picking us up with tweezers," added Tigh.

"What was the weapon she used and how and why did she have it?" asked Adama.

"Her wand it's a tool as much as a weapon," explained Sparta.

"Regardless of what it is why the hell did she have it?" demanded Adama with considerably more heat.

Sparta straightened looking gazes with Adama, "Because, Sir they are our allies. Their abilities are focused through their wands including the translation spells they use to communicate with us."

"You have got to fraking kidding me, you're letting them walk around armed?" asked Tigh incredulously.

Sparta didn't back down, "No, I'm leaving them the tools they have used to save members of the Triton's crew and let's not forget they just saved our collective butts."

Adama took a deep breath before replying, "I'm not happy about this Colonel, it comes damn close to dereliction of duty letting two civilians walked armed onto this ship. However I'm going to let it slide, for now considering that her actions saved lives. Where are they?"

"Being held in the Marine duty room, I thought it best," replied Tigh. "Not only for security reasons. I had thought we might want to keep it quiet."

Adama looked frustrated and tired as he stood. "Right well we still need to have our meeting. Saul I want to know how Doral got past a checkpoint wearing a bomb and where the explosives came from. Colonel Sparta you are with me."

Adama stalked down the corridor followed by Sparta. A big part of him was absolutely furious at the sequence of events but he reined it in. Whatever the circumstances were the outcome had come down to luck and there was one thing that every fighter pilot knew, luck was a fickle fraking mistress.

oOoOoOo

Triton Flight Deck

"Hey Chief got a visitor," called out a crewman who indicated to where a figure with a Galactica patch and a Chief's insignia on his uniform stood examining Harry and Hermione's ship.

Chief Gray nodded and wiped his hands clean on a rag as he walked over to the other man. "Can I help you?"

The other man turned, "Oh sorry you must be Chief Gray."

"Yep," replied Gray.

"Thought I had better come over and introduce myself, Galen Tyrol," he held his hand out, "Deck Chief on Galactica."

"Well I am Markus Gray, nice to meet you Galen."

"I've been itching to get over here and exchange wish lists."

Gray grinned, "Heard on the grapevine that you were short parts."

"We've been recycling and repairing just to keep everyone flying," admitted Tyrol.

"Well that's something I can probably help with. Parts aren't a big problem and we should be able to resupply most of your needs. Pending the officers getting their act together of course," said Chief Gray with a grin.

Tyrol looked around curiously. Did Triton have a manufacturing section? This class of Battlestar had assembly facilities but generally relied on parts. Gray sounded like that he was implying that wasn't an issue. "I have a list of our most needed parts. If you could spare some I'll request it with Commander Adama. That should help with the Raptors although unless you've kept old parts we will need to retool what we can for the Vipers."

Chief Gray paused as he realised that the Galactica's Chief didn't know about Harry and Hermione. This was a situation well above his pay grade. His musing of what to do was interrupted by Rebeka Toll.

"Chief I've got the diagnostic for Raptor thirty one. Do you want me to replace the whole OC unit?"

Chief Gray took the clipboard and looked over the diagnostic readout. The unit was faulty and given that it was a part of the life support system he wasn't going to put it's passengers and crew at risk. "Yes I think that's best Bek. Take it off the flight roster and get on it."

"Okay boss," Rebeka noticed Tyrol standing next to Chief Gray. "Oh sorry Chef was I interrupting?" she offered both men an apologetic smile.

"Crewman Toll this is Chief Tyrol from Galactica. Galen this is one of my better people."

"Nice to meet you Crewman Toll," Tyrol gave Rebeka a polite nod.

Rebeka's smile faded, "Chief, well I had better get back to work."

Tyrol watched Rebeka walk off with a puzzled expression before turning back to Chief Gray. "Did I miss something?"

"Things are a bit tense, not your fault. Anyway let's go through your list."

Rebeka grabbed her tool kit and dropped it into a hand cart before picking up a new OC unit and placing it in the cart as well. It was a fairly easy job to swap a unit but to be honest she wasn't feeling all that enthusiastic. Most of the deck crew of the Triton was friendly with Harry and Hermione and news of their arrest on Adama's orders had spread quickly among the crew. Chef Gray had been walking the deck talking and getting people to calm down and the muttering had stopped but on the whole, the crew was feeling less than charitable toward the Galactica.

oOoOoOo

Lt. Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson sipped at her tea and finished off a pastry as she left the pilots ready room. She had drawn the short straw for this milk run, shuttling the Chief over to talk to Triton's chief knuckle-dragger. Her acting ECO Lieutenant Alex "Crashdown" Quartararo was busy reuniting with his former colleagues. He had been on a routine messenger mission when the Cylons had attacked. He'd luckily been picked up by the Galactica. Ever since the Tritons miraculous reappearance he had been chomping at the bit to catch up with his former crew mates. Men and women he had assumed were lost.

To be honest she was feeling much better about things after finding that the Triton's ready room was very well stocked with food and drinks.

"Hey Racetrack," Edmondson turned to see Quartararo standing by the ready room hatch waving her back over.

"What's up?"

"The strange thing on the deck," said Quartararo.

Edmondson nodded. The oddly proportioned shape had caught both their eyes when their Raptor was being lowered to the deck.

"It is a ship. The Triton found it with two survivors aboard."

"Frak where is it from? Was it an experimental ship?" asked Edmondson in surprise. The thing didn't even appear to have engines.

"That's it, no one fraking knows. It's not Colonial and it isn't Cylon. The two crew are priests, healers."

"Priests, where would priests get an experimental ship from?"

Quartararo shrugged, "Don't know but I'm going to go and check it out before we head back."

"Wait up and I'll come with you. I want to see this."

Up close the ship was even more…odd. Edmondson ran her hand along the hull. It felt odd nothing like colonial materials. The rear hatch was open and while there was colonial equipment in the interior the ship itself was even more alien looking than the outside.

"Can I help you Sir?"

Edmondson turned to see two Triton Marines and a deck crewman.

"Hey Scarillo good to see you man," said Quartararo as he appeared from around the side of the ship.

"Crashdown, I heard you were on Galactica," said crewman Scarillo with a smile. "You still owe me fifty…sir."

Quartararo grinned before realizing that there were two armed marines watching. "I'm sorry, what's happening Corporal?"

The marine Corporal gestured toward the ship. "The chariot is off limits to everyone except engineering staff."

"The chariot?" asked Edmondson.

The marine gestured toward the ship, "It's what we call it. Anyway Sir, Major Brack has declared it off limits."

"Fair enough Corporal," said Edmondson while Quartararo simply nodded. "We were just checking out if the rumours were true."

"What is going on here?" asked Chief Gray as he appeared with Chief Tyrol and several deck crewmen trailing behind him.

Edmondson resisted the urge to roll her eyes before realizing that the looks she was receiving from many of the Triton crew were cold and the two Marines were moving to stand between her and the ship. Something was definitely going on here that she was not aware of. "We were just having a look at the ship Chief."

"Fair enough you weren't to know Sir. The ship is still being worked on and is the property of two civilians. Until things are sorted out we are keeping people clear." Chief Grey explained.

Edmondson nodded even though the Chief's explanation wasn't making the ship any less of a mystery, "Right Chief we will keep clear. Crashdown we had better start our pre-flight."

As she walked back to her Raptor she glanced around at the deck crew. The looks she received in return were…cold. Something had happened that had fraked off the Triton's crew and given that she was the recipient it was most likely something that they perceived to be the fault of the Galactica or her crew.

Once in the Raptor Quartararo sat at the ECO console, "Well that was weird."

"Agreed, what in the name of the gods has happened that has them so riled? The whole deck crew looked fraking pissed."

"No idea but I may be able to find out. My old bunkmate Hobbin is off duty. I was going to visit him. We are pretty tight so…."

"So he might come right out and say it. Chief didn't look like he was in a hurry…go for it Crashdown."

oOoOoOo

Pilot's Quarters – Triton

"Crashdown, hey man good to see you!" said lieutenant Mikhael 'Gorgon' Hobbin

Quartararo grinned, "I heard you dented the deck?"

"Yeah my fraking Raptor tried to punch my ticket. I was lucky Crashdown. Hermione healed my fractured skull up well enough that the Doctor only took me off flight rotation for a day or so."

"Who?" asked Quartararo.

"Who….oh you mean Hermione? Her and her bloke Harry they are our castaways we pulled them out of the mystery ship. Thank the gods we did or I wouldn't be here. Harry pulled me out of my Raptor...It was pretty bad, a fuel fire and Crewman Toll couldn't get us out. Next thing I know I'm in life stations with a bad concussion. Nurse told me what happened."

"You had a fractured skull, frak man that's serious. When you say healed…is she a doc?"

"Nah more like a priestess. From what I've been told it's like magic."

"Frak….well frak Gorgon."

Hobbin grinned, "Doc Jackson has been pulling his hair out trying to work out how she does it. Frankly I don't give a frak she's working with the Doc to patch people up. Since I've been here man I've seen her work even though they've tried to keep it under wraps."

Quartararo nodded unsure of what to make of his friends story.

"Did you see them on Galactica?"

"What, who?" asked Quartararo.

"Rumours are flying that Commander Adama had them arrested," Hobbin shook his head. "Bad enough when Brack locked them up. If he did I hope common sense breaks out. I personally owe them man."

Quartararo stayed for a few more minutes before leaving with a promise to return when he was able. The whole conversation with Hobbin was confusing but it did offer an odd twist to why his Galactica crew mates were receiving cold looks. When he got back to Galactica he'd follow unofficial yet well-established military protocol and report what he'd discovered to Captain Adama, the CAG could sort it out.

oOoOoOo

Basestar 420

"It's the Galactica and the Triton all right...our heavy raider has confirmed it," reported the Eight at tactical.

"A pity we couldn't prevent this now we will need to wait for reinforcements," said a frowning Three.

Eight studied the DRADIS readout, "Pull back to the far side of the binary system because they'll have a CAP out soon. The binary's emissions will mask our presence from their DRADIS."

Two looked over at the Hybrid as the others discussed their tactical situation. The hybrid met his gaze for a moment before its eyes glazed over. "Section 45-32 has intermittent power fluctuations, maintenance unit dispatched...EM radiation spiking...seven...one...six...two...minus four...airlock J343-456 is showing a warning light...maintenance dispatched."

Two didn't know what to make of the hybrids words. Sometimes they held meaning at over times it was gibberish. The trick was telling which was which. For a moment it had sounded like it was talking about model numbers.

Two straightened and removed himself from the stream. Reality had been moving in circles, repeating event after event a cycle of destruction that served nothing. God wanted his creations to understand, to be moved away from their destructive behaviour, to grow. His plan was for his creations to find harmony, oneness with his broader creation. Humanities children have a part to play just as humanity did, just as he did. He needed a moment of clarity, a clue to decipher what his next part would be. The hybrid had seen something, something important and had tried to communicate it. The failure was his, he failed to understand.

"Two?"

Two turned to see Three standing behind him with a look of frustration on her face.

"Yes?"

Three raised an eyebrow, "Any revelations that you wish to share?"

Two ignored her sarcastic tone, which was expected treating her enquiry as genuine, "Not yet I'm still working on it."

"Then leave it for now, I want to have a meeting to discuss our tactical situation."

oOoOoOo

"Commander"

"Unlock it Sargent," ordered Adama.

The marine unlocked the hatch and pulled it open.

oOoOoOo

Daniel and Hermione watched Harry pace back and forth for several minutes before sharing a look.

"Harry, relax," said Hermione.

"I don't trust Adama and to be honest for all her promises I'm not sure that I trust the President either."

Hermione nodded sympathetically, "I really do understand your position given your history with politicians but this is not the ministry."

"Same thing," argued Harry in a resigned tone.

"Just give them a chance Harry."

"Fine," said Harry.

Before Hermione or Daniel could say anything else the hatch was unlocked allowing Adama and Sparta entry.

Adama stood for a moment apparently waiting for Sparta to close the hatch before taking a seat at the battered metal table.

"I owe you an apology."

Hermione and Daniel took seats at the table and after a moment Harry joined them.

"Your actions today averted what could have been a disaster," continued Adama. "I realise that you have little reason to accept that as genuine. Given everything that has happened I….I would like to start again. If you would, can you brief me in on what you are offering?"

Harry glanced over at Hermione who nodded slightly.

"We are offering to help you and the fleet in return for your help in getting us home and your protection for Daniel," replied Hermione. "Essentially the same arrangement we had with Colonel Sparta."

"And you are from Earth?"

"I don't know if it is the same planet you call Earth but yes we call our home planet Earth."

"Your abilities are common on Earth?" asked Adama.

Harry straightened in his chair concerned, an action mirrored by Daniel.

Hermione shook her head, "No only a small percentage of the population shares our abilities. May I ask a question Commander?"

Adama nodded.

"Why are you so interested in Earth?"

Adama hesitated for a moment before answering, "Our history speaks of a thirteenth colony that live on a planet called Earth. We were hoping to seek sanctuary there."

"I see and I assume that you don't actually know the way," said Hermione.

Adama didn't react save for a slight narrowing of his eyes, "A perceptive observation."

"Why else would you be so interested in us? The problem is Commander that we don't know where Earth is from here. The ship that got us here was not ours and from what we know it is damaged, perhaps beyond repair."

"You know that it does indeed exist Miss Granger, a fact which is of great importance to my people. However right now we are desperately short on a great many resources. I've read over the reports from the Triton and aid along similar lines would be invaluable. Doctor Jackson has been singing your praises and considering that we are critically short of medical staff, well as I said we are lacking in resources."

Harry cleared his throat, "What about Daniel?"

Adama turned his head to look directly at Daniel. "I want to be clear. I am dubious but I am trying to understand and accept your story. If you are willing to continue in Medical…sorry Life Station on the Triton and abide by a few….reasonable restrictions while we build some trust then I think I can live with it."

Daniel nodded slowly, "As long as they are reasonable I am willing to work within the restrictions."

"We can't hide that there are Cylons in the fleet. This last incident could have been a disaster and I suspect that we may have to go public to some degree. I know you are aware of Colonel Sparta's plans concerning dealing with your brethren. Initially I was against his plan even with all the potential gains but I am willing to allow him to proceed if we can include every reasonable safeguard for the fleet. I won't risk lives."

"Do you want me to continue to work on identifying possible infiltrators?" asked Daniel.

Colonel Sparta nodded and Adama studied Daniel for a moment before agreeing, "I don't see why not but given the importance of the project I think putting a mixed working party on to it. I want all the potential angles examined before we end up with a witch hunt."

Daniel nodded slowly thinking about the Eight he had seen. Was she an infiltrator or was she like him, a renegade. He had almost spoken up several times but for now he held his tongue.

"What about Harry and I?" asked Hermione. "Do we just continue on?"

Adama considered the reports he had re-read, thankful that he had taken the time. Roslin was a pain in the arse but she was right on this issue. They had to take these opportunities if they were to survive, "I think my senior officers and I need a better understanding of what you can do."

oOoOoOo

Lee Adama took a sip of the vile excuse for tea that was in the officer's mess and tried to focus on what Crashdown and Racetrack were telling him.

"Right and you think this has something to do with what happened with some people arrested on the Triton and transferred here?"

"Way Hobbin tells it they are priests or something, healers working with Doc Jackson," added Quartararo.

"The Chief was over there and he picked up on it as well. We just thought you should know," added Edmondson.

"Hey Apollo, wireless for you," called out Boomer as she held out the handset.

Lee took the handset, "Apollo here."

"Captain you are needed up on the bridge," passed on the recognisable voice of Petty Officer Dualla.

"Okay on my way," replied Lee before hanging the set back on its cradle. "Look I'll ask around, see what I can find out."

Lee made his way to the bridge where an ensign directed him toward the small conference room next to the Commanders cabin. The Marine at the hatch pulled it open allowing him to step into the room.

"Come in Captain we are just waiting for a few people to arrive," said Tigh.

Looking around he spotted the LSO Captain Kelly talking to a female lieutenant from Triton.

"What is this about Kelly?"

Kelly shrugged, "Haven't heard anything since I came on duty this morning but something is going on. I passed a whole squad of marines on my way here. Something has caused security to be tightened."

Colonel Tigh stood and faced the rest the room, "Alright everyone settle down. Commander Adama will be here shortly with the President and believe me people we are going to have order in this room or so help me you will be seeing the inside of the brig. Are we clear?" The last was said with a good deal of emphasis.

Lee had seen Tigh pull his hard-ass XO routine before but this was something else. Tigh looked genuinely concerned.

As the talk died down the hatch opened and two armed marines stepped in followed by Commander Adama, Colonel Sparta, Major Brack then President Roslin and Doctor Baltar. Two more armed Marines entered and then a man and two teenagers. All three were dressed in standard crew overalls with Triton patches but no rank or rating insignia.

Lee watched as his father stepped forward and looked around the now quiet room, "All right people we have a lot to get through and all of it is important. Some of you may be aware that we have had a number of reports of humanoid Cylons like those we encountered at Ragnar Anchorage. Well for once the rumours are true. There are a number of models of Cylon that look and act human."

Lee could see his fellow officers looking around the room with a variety of shocked and disbelieving expressions. Commander Adama gave the room a few moments before continuing, "However we have caught a lucky break. In fact we have been given an unparalleled opportunity thanks to the actions of the Triton's crew. So that you understand just what we have been presented with you will need the context. In the aftermath of the Cylon attack the Triton encountered a merchant ship..."

As Commander Adama explained the situation Lee found himself wondering if he was dreaming in his bunk with the talk about humanoid Cylons and a defector. Who was claiming that the humanoid Cylons were being deceived by one of their own…the repercussions were huge. As the conversation moved on to infiltrators in the fleet and plans to capture them Lee found himself again wondering if he was the only one feeling a bit overwhelmed. The facts however were clear with three humanoid Cylons currently in the brig and a fourth helping identify others. He studied Daniel as the Cylon spoke quietly to the still unnamed young woman seated next to him. He looked normal enough but he wasn't about to turn his back on the cylon, defector or not.

"...our investigation will need to cover every ship in the fleet including the Galactica. As we identify any Cylons that have infiltrated the fleet we will remove them as a threat. Remember if you kill a Cylon you run the risk of them simply downloading, memory intact aboard the nearest resurrection ship. So we want them captured alive if at all possible, questions?"

"Are the raiders the same, I mean do they retain their memories and learn from their mistakes?" asked one of the Triton's officers sitting behind Lee. Fighting a cringe at the thought of the Raiders getting more effective Lee looked to his father and was surprised when he turned to Daniel.

"Yes they do but if I am correct One will have effectively lobotomized the Raiders much as he was planning to with the other non-humanoid Cylons. By removing their ability to be fully self-aware they won't benefit as much from their memories as they could have."

There were a few more technical questions about Cylon capabilities before Adama again re-enforced the importance of rounding up any Cylon infiltrators. "Remember that while this information that the Cylons themselves may have been manipulated it does not mean that they are not a threat. They are believer's people and even if they have some doubts we believe they will try and carry out their orders. So let's not risk lives. What we are calling operation clean sweep will have to be simultaneous aboard every vessel in the fleet. So I want each of you to put together plans for how we can achieve this. If anyone has any concerns speak to your division head or bring them to me."

Lee sat through the rest of the conversation processing the facts. When they were dismissed he stood to leave only to be stopped by Tigh.

"Not yet Captain. Commander Adama wants you to sit in on the next briefing."

oOoOoOo

Harry watched the majority of the officers file out of the room leaving five Galactica officers plus those he knew from the Triton. Commander Adama introduced each of the officers, Captain Lee Adama, Captain Aaron Kelly, Doctor Sherman Cottle, Lieutenant Felix Gaeta and Lieutenant Erik Marshall.

"Harry and Hermione their abilities and indeed their existence are not to be discussed outside this room. There are already rumours but I don't want them added to with any sort of substance. That is a direct order, Hermione if you are ready?"

Hermione stood giving the room a nervous smile as she considered what the best way to begin. Daniel's warning about the risks of exposure along with her life since beginning Hogwarts and its hidden world were at odds with the situation she now found herself placed in. Still she felt better prepared than Harry whose trust in the colonials was still rather shaky. She knew without looking that he had his wand near at hand and no doubt the Auror portkey password on his lips.

"Hello my name is Hermione Granger and I am a magic user. I assume that those who don't know me are assuming that I am either insane or some sort of charlatan." Moving slowly she drew her wand and transfigured the chair Harry was sitting in into a comfortable, well-padded recliner in bright red leather. With another flick she levitated Harry and the chair up to head height before she directed the floating recliner to the other side of the room. "Both Harry and I have these abilities. They are part of our genetic makeup, an intrinsic part of who we are. We are however still fully human, we simply have an extra ability."

Harry stood and walked over to where a glass jug sat on a small table with a dozen glasses. Lifting the jug above his head he dropped it on the floor. With a swipe of his wand the water disappeared. "That is a cleaning charm and this is a simple repair spell." Harry cast Reparo and the jug pieces reassembled before the eyes of the astonished officers.

"Holy Zeus," whispered Marshall as he leaned forward to get a better look.

Colonel Sparta stood and gestured to where Harry and Hermione stood, "They can repair parts, create water, create basic materials and help heal wounds. All of which we have benefited from on the Triton. Both Harry and Hermione are willing to continue to assist our cause. I am sure that you can see where such abilities might benefit us."

"What the frak is this…ungodliness?" demanded Aaron Kelly.

"Captain," warned Adama.

Kelly seemed to hear the warning tone and subsided but he continued to shoot Hermione and Harry contemptuous glances.

Doctor Cottle looked down at the photos in the medical report his colleague had put together. The images raised more questions than answers. Clearing his throat, and wishing he had a cigarette he turned his attention to Doctor Jackson. "You say that the wounds were not fully healed is there risk that the…um healing could re-open or be more open to infection?"

Doctor Jackson shook his head, "Not that I've seen as far as wounds go. The nature of Hermione's gifts accelerates healing so I can only assume the risk is lower. We haven't collected enough data yet. Hermione, do you know?"

Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head, "Healing was more a necessity for me rather than an area of study. Both Harry and I know basic techniques but we are far from being healers."

Doctor Cottle raised an eyebrow in surprised disbelief. The work Jackson was claiming she has done was superb.

Hermione sensed the Doctors disbelief but was unsure as to what he was referring to, "I was studying to be an archaeologist."

Doctor Cottle nodded, "Regardless I'd like to have the opportunity to sit down with you and Doctor Jackson. Medically speaking, some of my supplies are critically low and I and a handful of medical staff are looking after the entire fleet."

"I think medical needs are near the top of the list," Adama reassured Cottle.

"I want in as well," said Marshall. "If this is true…..we have countless items that need repair or replacement."

Adama almost breathed a sigh of relief that at least some of his officers were excited by the project. "That is why we are here. I want to verify and explore what exactly we are looking at here and how we proceed. Doctor Baltar will be working with your groups as the president's science advisor. Captains Kelly and Adama I want you working with Colonel Sparta and Marine Lieutenant Burrell to devise a strategy for operation clean sweep. Marshall I want you and Lieutenant Dontas to coordinate with your people. I want a full investigation of what we have seen here and I want the start of a wish list. Stick to the military side for now but we are going to have to expand the list to the rest of the fleet."

"Sir I will need to bring people in to make this happen," warned Lieutenant Marshall.

"Keep the group small Lieutenant," ordered Adama.

"Chief Gray and several key members of his team are briefed in. We can get some people from there," reported Richard Dontas. "One of my avionics crew has been acting as a liaison. She has a pretty good understanding of their abilities."

"What about Chief Tyrol?" asked Marshall.

Adama hesitated for a moment before nodding, "Brief him in."

"Make sure the Chief understands that he is to keep this close," warned Tigh.

Adama looked around the room seeing no further questions, "Okay people we have got a lot to do. I want preliminary reports by 0800 tomorrow."

oOoOoOo

Kara Thrace stood outside the brig looking in at the suspected Cylon known as Aaron Doral. Security was tight and there was little chance of an escape but it looked like Sergeant Dorian's squad wasn't taking any chances.

"Lieutenant Thrace?"

Kara turned to see Colonel Sparta and Commander Adama. She quickly braced and saluted trying to hide her wince as her knee sent pain radiating up her leg.

"Come with us Lieutenant," ordered Adama.

Kara followed them into a small room where Adama gestured for her to be seated. She looked back and forth between the two senior officers trying to figure out why she had been ordered to appear.

After a moment Adama cleared his throat, "Lieutenant I have a task for you. A difficult task that I want you to feel free to turn down if you do not feel capable of performing it. As you are no doubt aware in the cell outside we have another copy of the Cylon Aaron Doral."

"A copy...that means there may be more?" asked Kara.

Adama nodded and Kara resisted the urge to start swearing.

"There are multiple copies Lieutenant. You will be working with Colonel Sparta and some others as part of this. Colonel Sparta has a briefing prepared."

Sparta gestured to a small video player, "You need to watch this Lieutenant and I need to say upfront that you will treat this information as secret until we tell you otherwise, clear?"

"Yes Sir," replied Kara.

"Good," replied Sparta as he hit play on the unit.

"Name and occupation?" asked Richard Sparta.

"John Cavil I am a lay brother may I ask why I am being held?"

"We'll get to that soon Brother Cavil. Can I get your residential address please?"

"May I ask what the relevance is of these questions?"

When the video finished Kara sat silently considering the empty screen.

"Lieutenant?" prompted Sparta.

"This is...permission to speak freely?"

"Granted," said Adama.

"What the Frak is this...I mean the toasters have developed human bodies I can buy that. But they believe in god….they are just machines!"

"As near as we can tell they are so close to human that they are indistinguishable. For all intents and purposes they are human….well humanoids. They have emotions and they feel pain and pleasure. That may be our chance," said Sparta.

"What I mean why?" asked Kara.

"The original humanoid Cylons ended the stalemate of the first war. They began designing human bodies for the Cylons and gifted them the resurrection technology they are using. They made the bodies perfect. They think Lieutenant. They have opinions and beliefs and gods be praised they have doubts. They've been manipulated by one of their own. One has worked on their old hatred of humanity, their despair at being treated like expendable tools. Daniel didn't say it outright but I think that deep down he fears that One has killed of the five original Cylons."

"Removing the peace makers," mused Adama "It sounds like One has stacked the deck."

Sparta nodded, "An apt analogy. He stacked it further by tampering with the humanoid Cylons programming and inhibiting the sentience of the non-humanoid Cylons."

Kara looked back and forth between the two older men an incredulous look on her face, "Hang on you want to help them?"

Sparta shook his head, "No Lieutenant I want to stop them attacking us. I want what is left of humanity to survive. I don't forgive the Cylons and I sure as hades won't forget what the bastards did to us but blind hatred will get us killed. I am choosing to hate more selectively. I want the Cylons to turn on each other. I want One gone so that we can deal with the less psychopathic models."

"To what end?" asked Kara.

"Survival," answered Sparta.

"We want you to lead the team debriefing Doral and then any other infiltrators we capture. I want as much information as we can get on the Cylons and their strategies and long term plans. While that is happening we are going to found out what their reactions are to One's confession. If they are as outraged as the Six was we work it into our plan. We need to know how the Cylons will react."

"You think this will work?" asked Kara.

"Yes lieutenant I do. Provided of course that we get the information we need," replied Sparta.

"How far do I go?" Kara wanted to be clear on the methods she could use.

"Nothing physical Lieutenant we will not be torturing them. That could ruin the plan. Let's treat them as enemy combatants as per the articles of war."

Kara wanted to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't asleep. "Wouldn't a more senior officer be better suited Sir?"

Adama hid a smile at the evasion. Kara Thrace was a pilot alright. "They are working on other projects for now. So are you in Lieutenant?"

Kara nodded.

"Good then there will be a full briefing at 1300. Hopefully we will have a team for you by then," replied Adama. "Kara?"

"Sir?"

"You can do this."

oOoOoOo

0615 - CAP Patrol – Vipers of Junior Lieutenant Nora Farmer and Lieutenant Tucker "Duck" Clellan - Raptor of Junior Lieutenant Sharon Valerii/ECO Junior Lieutenant Alex "Crashdown" Quartararo

"DRADIS contacts right on the edge of the distortion from the binary," reported Crashdown, "Frak it's Cylon...multiple contacts. Three baseships and at least two hundred raiders. Three minutes."

"Contact Galactica," ordered Boomer before flicking on the wireless, "Farmer, Duck we have incoming Raiders three minutes out."

"Right got it on our DRADIS now," acknowledged Duck.

"Alert Vipers launching now. Estimated two minutes."

"Acknowledged Galactica," replied Duck. "Boomer let's give them something to chase. Start ECM while Farmer and I make a run...let's see if they want to play."

Boomer could hear Crashdown starting the electronic counter measures as the two Vipers short past her Raptor on a vector away from the fleet.

"Boomer fall back and monitor we have to try and hold them until the fleet is ready to jump," ordered Apollo as his flight of six Vipers rocketed past the stationary Raptor. "Get clear We've got it from here."

"Acknowledged, Apollo," said Boomer before switching to her internal mike, "Crashdown continue ECM."

oOoOoOo

Apollo rolled and then spun his Viper through 180 degrees before opening fire on a Cylon raider. The fight was getting complicated as reinforcements from both Galactica and Triton appeared.

"Radiological alarm," warned Galactica. "We have multiple incoming nukes. looks like they are focusing on the Triton."

Apollo didn't have time to acknowledge the warning as he spun his fighter into a spiralling evasive course as three Raiders fell in behind him. Things were getting rather tight when another Viper bisected his course taking out two Raiders.

"You looked like you needed a hand Apollo," said Nora Farmer as a second Viper took out the third Raider.

"Nice flying Farmer," said Duck as he rolled his Viper to target another Raider.

"Can't have the CAG getting...Frak...I'm hit...Frak it...Tucker."

Apollo could see Nora's Viper yawing as she struggled to control the damaged fighter.

"Farmer get out of the fight," ordered Apollo.

oOoOoOo

Nora cursed as her Viper fought against her. There was no way she would make it back to the Galactica. Another shudder shook her fighter as she was forced to ease back on the power even more.

"Well this is fraked," whispered Nora. She had spent last night getting her brains fraked out by Duck and now some lousy fraking toaster had ruined her whole day. Normal procedure was to eject but that option was suicide with the fleet preparing to jump.

"Farmer you still with us?"

Nora turned her head to see a Raptor flying beside her.

"Boomer, I'm hip deep in shit here," as if to emphasise her point her Viper shuddered again. A warning light came on indicating that her fuel system was malfunctioning. Immediately her low fuel warning light flashed on.

"Farmer you are leaking fuel...call it in Nora," advised Boomer.

"Krypter, Krypter, Krypter this is Farmer in Viper 745. I am declaring an emergency." Nora Farmer wasn't panicking as she tried to keep her Viper on course toward Galactica but she was starting to worry. Without warning her Vipers controls went dead. Working quickly she tried to restart the systems then it felt like something kicked her in the back and everything went black.

oOoOoOo

Life Stations - Triton

"What have we got?" asked Doctor Jackson as he pulled on a new set of gloves. The Colonial pilots had held off three Basestars until the fleet could jump to safety. They had lost several Vipers but his concern was the living.

"Viper pilot, one of our rescue Raptors picked her up just before we jumped," reported one of his triage nurses. "We have burns on the torso and neck and possible spinal injury. She has been immobilized and sedated. Vitals are stable now but she dipped quite badly on the Raptor."

Doctor Jackson took in the report as he began his own examination. The burns were bad and would need immediate treatment, most probably grafts. Her temperature was up and down and her blood pressure abnormally low, most likely hypovolaemia and potential hypothermia. Tie that in with the cardiac arrhythmia and this patient was in critical condition. The upper back injury was worrying but under control. He carefully cut away her flight suit around the burnt area to check the wounds when he noticed the ruptured blood vessels. Possible partial vacuum exposure. "Get her prepped for theatre. I need x-rays and cross matching on her blood type. Start a drip with normal saline and get Miss Granger here. I think we will need her help with this one."

As the two nurses started work he contacted CIC. Doctor Cottle might want to see this.

oOoOoOo

CIC - Galactica

"DRADIS shows all clear," reported Gaeta. "All ships have reported in."

"Calculate the next jump and notify the fleet of the coordinates. What is our condition?"

Tigh turned from where he was studying the status board, "We lost three Vipers and two pilots. Junior Lieutenant Farmer was picked up by Triton before the jump."

Adama nodded in acceptance of the casualty figures "We were lucky the CAP caught the Cylons through the EM interference. If they had a few more minutes we would have been in trouble."

"Stand the fleet down to condition two," ordered Adama.

"Sir I have Triton on the line. They are requesting that Doctor Cottle transfer over for the surgery on Lieutenant Farmer", announced Petty Officer Dualla.

Adama looked over at Tigh who understood the unspoken order. Turning back to Dualla he nodded, "Pass the message to Doctor Cottle and arrange a Raptor for a transfer."

Colonel Tigh picked up the wireless and put a call through to the CAG to give an update on Farmer.

oOoOoOo

Operating Theatre One - Triton

Doctor Jackson looked up as the theatre door opened. Hermione entered dressed in surgical greens. One of the nurses helped her in to surgical gloves before she led her to the operating table.

"Hermione thank you for coming," said Jackson as he cut away more of his flight suit that was melted to the skin. "The patient has burns on the neck and torso and a palpable fracture of the neck, C2 although according to the X-ray the spinal column doesn't appear to be compromised."

Hermione hesitated, "Doctor I...I am not a trained healer I'm not sure what good I will be." The patients burns looked lived on her pale skin.

"Can you heal the wounds as I finish cutting away the dead skin? If we can get healing underway we might be able to avoid infection and later scar tissue."

Hermione nodded slowly her decision made, "Where do you need me to stand?"

The doctor and the witch began working on Norma Farmer as two nurses monitored her vitals.

Doctor Cottle finished washing his hands and stood as a nurse helped him don gloves before opening the door to theatre. He was about to announce himself but paused to watch as Doctor Jackson cut away a section of blackened skin. Hermione then moved her hand closer and ran something over the bleeding cut that sealed the skin. He suddenly realised that the incision hadn't left a scar. He had read the reports and heard Jackson and Granger speak, but to see it with his own eyes was very different. Shaking his head he stepped forward.

"Can I assist Doctor?"

Jackson turned his head, "Ah Doctor Cottle yes if you could have a look at the x-rays. I would like a second opinion on the neck injury."

"Can't miss Granger simply," he waved his hand around like a conductor.

"Small fractures maybe but I have to be able to visualise what I want to achieve and if I make a mistake I could make things worse," explained Hermione ignoring, for now that the Galactica's doctor had spoken to Doctor Jackson as if she wasn't present.

Cottle grunted in acceptance before turning to the lit panels displaying the x-rays. There was a fracture at C2 although it wasn't a break. Had it been she may well be been killed or at best a quadriplegic. If Granger could heal the fracture as well as she sealed Jackson's incisions she would be saving Farmer a great deal of pain. "Normally I'd put her in a brace until the swelling went down. I don't see any signs that the spinal column has been compromised but...well it's too early to be sure." He tapped the C2 vertebra on the X-ray and then traced his fingers over the visible cracks. "Would you be able to heal these cracks?"

Hermione considered his request from a couple of different angles. The few healing spells she knew well were either for specific injuries or general in nature, designed to accelerate healing and reliant on the caster envisioning the outcome. "Perhaps although breaks are harder to fully heal I should be able to kick start them healing."

Cottle looked over at Jackson who finished another incision and nodded, "Then I suggest that you do so."

Hermione turned back to help Doctor Jackson while Doctor Cottle got himself into position to watch. He didn't want to miss this.

oOoOoOo

Galactica - FTL Engineering 

Lieutenant Marshall cursed the day he was given command of Engineering as he studied the base of the structural framing with his torch. It had to be metal fatigue...he played the torch light over the next frame and noticed the same signs. It wasn't critical yet but it sure as hades wasn't good. He would need to do a full survey of the hull. A time consuming and labour intensive task that would tax the patience of his crew. The worst thing was that at best they could simply patch up the damage. Unless of course Potter really could fix or replace the parts. Regardless he would add it to the list he was making for commander Adama.

oOoOoOo

Daniel sat with Colonel Sparta and President Roslin trying to ignore the two armed marines beside the door. His every move was being watched.

Roslin read through the brief prepared by her aide before lowering the file to the desk in frustration, "What records we have are compromised by the movement between ships and by the lack of pictorial records of passengers and refugees. The fleet side is better with personnel records but that still leaves a huge number of records to view."

"I'm happy to work through the files Madam President," said Daniel. "But I really only need a photo to identify any of my brethren."

"True that will certainly mean we can move through this faster," agreed Sparta.

"Well then Daniel, Colonel you should get started."

oOoOoOo

Daniel, Sparta and their marine escorts were walking back to the hanger deck to transfer to Triton when Daniel paused. Walking toward him was the Eight he had seen before, the pilot.

She saluted Colonel Sparta and peered curiously at Daniel before stepping aside to let them pass.

Daniel felt a pang of guilt at the sight of her. He hadn't reported her presence because he honestly wanted to know if she was a fellow renegade. Unlikely as that may be.

There was no recognition in Eight's eyes. As they continued on her resisted the urge to turn and look back at her. What was her purpose and how long did he dare remain silent?


	10. Chapter 10

Gods among us - A Harry Potter and Battlestar Galactica crossover

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Special thanks to my Beta and Technical Guru XRaiderV1. Your fine work and suggestions (Not to mention the initial challenge to write this Fic) are greatly appreciated. I'd also like to thank Imperator the newest member of 'team arturus' for all oh his advice, prodding and help with this chapter.

The events here happen after the events shown in the Season 1 Episode - You can't go home again

Last time:

Daniel, Sparta and their marine escorts were walking back to the hanger deck to transfer to Triton when Daniel paused. Walking toward him was the Eight he had seen before, the pilot.

She saluted Colonel Sparta and peered curiously at Daniel before stepping aside to let them pass.

Daniel felt a pang of guilt at the sight of her. He hadn't reported her presence because he honestly wanted to know if she was a fellow renegade. Unlikely as that may be.

There was no recognition in Eight's eyes. As they continued on her resisted the urge to turn and look back at her. What was her purpose and how long did he dare remain silent?

Chapter 10

Triton – Life Stations

Doctor Sherman Cottle studied the series of medical scans with meticulous attention before turning to Doctor Jackson and Hermione, "If I hadn't of seen it myself I would have believed these injuries had occurred six months ago. It's quite a gift you have Miss Granger."

Hermione nodded offering Galactica's doctor a smile, "Just so long as everybody remembers the limitations, there are some lines not even magic can cross."

Cottle picked up a notebook and made a few notes before slipping it back in to his pocket, "I'd love to sit down with you and talk through exactly what those limitations are but I suspect I already have people looking for me."

"Assuming that I'm able to I am at your service doctor," said Hermione before trying to hide a yawn.

Cottle frowned and Jackson tried to hide his flinch at Hermione's words, both were still feeling rather uncharitable toward Commander Adama after his actions on Galactica.

"Tired?" asked Jackson with an understanding smile.

"Healing can be draining, every time you cast a healing spell you give a little of yourself. If I was to try and do too much I could exhaust myself, I heard a story of a healer who tried to keep a dying patient alive despite fatal injuries and ended up killing herself."

"Ouch," exclaimed Cottle, "Alright, well although I can't promise anything I'll talk to Adama and the Roslin; after all I am supposedly the CMO. You are a medical asset Miss Granger one I have every intention of using as needed."

Cottle gathered up the medical scans and departed pausing only to light a cigarette as he left life stations.

Hermione shook her head as the Galactica's doctor disappeared, "He's an interesting man."

Jackson laughed, "Yes he is, he has a reputation in the fleet for being an excellent doctor and a right gruff bastard if rubbed the wrong way."

Hermione gave a tired shrug, "Well unless you need me I might seek my bed."

Jackson considered for a moment there were a number of wounded that needed attention but nothing urgent or beyond normal medical care. "We are fine here for now, go and get some sleep."

Hermione simply nodded before leaving, so tired that she didn't even acknowledge the whispers and looks she received as she made her way to her cabin.

oOoOoOo

Galactica – Engineering Spaces

Commander Adama watched closely as Harry released his spell at the heavily damaged panel from a Viper. As the metal transformed he found himself leaning forward to watch. After a few moments the panel looked completely undamaged.

"Amazing, the change is permanent?" asked Baltar.

Harry nodded, "If that is the intent when I release the spell."

"Can you do more than that at once?" asked Tyrol. "You said something about creating copies."

"Yes Chief, although it's better to change something than create it from scratch...say some scrap in to a component. Anything you conjured from scratch, well let's just say you have to put a lot more power in to it."

Lieutenant Marshal scratched his head as he tried to work out what Harry was saying, "Hold on I think I've got it, so the output varies based on how much power you put in to it and as long as you can visualise the outcome…Frak…sorry but Frak…" Marshall trailed off aware of the baleful look he was receiving from Adama.

Adama continued to stare at the engineer, "Lieutenant?"

"Sorry sir but this is a Gods send. Harry can replace or repair every major system we have converting it from scrap, by simply using his abilities. No wonder the Triton got put back together in record time."

Adama turned to Baltar, "What's your opinion Doctor?"

"You need them Gaius, they will be your salvation," whispered Six as she ran her hand over his shoulder.

Baltar twitched slightly before he answered, "Scientifically I can't even begin to explain how he is doing it, matter energy manipulation is a mere theory but the proof is right there, "he pointed at the panel. "With Harry's permission I think we need to check that there are no unforeseen drawbacks but, well I can't see why he can't start repairs."

Adama seemed to think for a second before nodding, "Very well make a start."

Baltar cleared his throat, "Um I'd like to ask about our food supplies. The President is deeply concerned about the increasingly difficult rationing issues and wanted me to ask you if you could help. The briefing notes mentioned that you could help with food and water, both of which are critical to the fleet's survival."

Harry tried to keep the tiredness out of his voice, "There are some limits Doctor."

"Be careful Gaius," warned Six, "Do not push too hard."

"Doctor Baltar," warned Adama with a stern expression.

"Sorry, It's just…I'm tired and it has been a long day. It's a good question Doctor." Harry considered how to answer that question, "Water is easy and well I can change one thing from one form to another although there are some limits to this. Food is an odd one that I can do but I'm not an expert on the why's of it, you need Hermione for that."

"What do you mean?" asked Adama.

"I can take a food stuff and copy it change it in to another, I could take a bland vegetable and change it in to something else. I could improve the taste and appearance of something as long as I knew what it was supposed to be like. Technically you can do it with anything edible but I'm not sure what the limitations of that are," seeing the puzzled looks on the others faces he continued explaining. "Say I had some, I don't know….grass, say I had some grass I could transfigure that in to bread but that's a lot more difficult that changing it to lettuce. It would be even harder to change it in to a steak or a chicken wing."

Baltar nodded slowly as he considered the astounding claims Harry was making, "So the volume of the base material must be the same," he made a note in his notebook.

"Sort of although you can use engorgement charms to expand size, it's pretty technical and not really my area of expertise. I'm probably not explaining it very well but at the end of the day it's the amount of magical power you push in to your spell," Harry conjured a tea pot and four cups. "Now I've created the pot and the cups and depending on what my intent was they are either permanent or temporary. Several pro…of my teachers were masters of this type of magic and could create food and drink by pulling magic from the air itself to assemble food but as I said it's not my area of expertise."

Marshal and Tyrol laughed at Baltar's expression of shock, even Adama's lips twitched.

"I assure you Doctor it's more than possible," added Harry.

"Would you be able to demonstrate?" asked Baltar as he tried to ignore Sixes hair in his face as she leaned forward to study Harry.

Harry shrugged looked around for a moment before he reached over and grabbed a small bread roll from the food tray on the table to set in front of Baltar. All the Colonial's in the room knew that food supplies were running dangerously low even with strict rationing, so along with parts and repairs this was a critical experiment.

Harry touched his wand on the roll before casting an engorgement charm holding the spell until the bread roll had reached the size of the table.

"By the gods," whispered Tyrol.

Marshall gingerly touched the huge bread roll, "Is this one permanent or temporary?"

"Permanent," explained Harry.

"That is….well I was going to say impossible, but well it is amazing," said Baltar as he leaned down closely studying the bread poking it with his pen. "And it has the same nutrition value, what happens if you keep making copies?"

Harry cast another spell to duplicate the roll and a second appeared next to the first, "That's duplication the second roll is an exact copy of the first, Most of my people don't use it too much because…actually I'm not sure why, maybe people did use it and I don't know," Harry smiled and gave a grim laugh. "Knowing this spell would have been very bloody useful during the war but we hadn't been taught household charms."

Adama noted the mention of a war but didn't say anything.

Baltar studied Harry for a few moments as Six whispered in his ear, "He's fought before Gaius, look in to his eyes."

"What about a crate of food?" asked Tyrol, "Rather than can by can?"

"Actually the theory is the same for say one tin," Harry yawned before continuing, "As it is for a box of a hundred tins."

"Simply amazing, okay the briefing notes mentioned preservation of food…."

oOoOoOo

Adama poured himself a drink and was somewhat surprised to see that his hand wasn't shaking.

"That bad?" asked Tigh.

Adama took a sip of his drink, "Bad…no it wasn't, more like frightening."

Tigh frowned and looked down at his own empty glass for a moment before putting it on the ledge, "Are they a threat?"

"No they could be our salvation and I nearly threw it away. I was a hairsbreadth away from ordering them locked up or worse."

Tigh studied his old friend who looked…tired, worn and for the first time he realised that despite the bravado they were both too old to keep this pace up with all the stresses that were being thrown at them. "But you didn't, you did the right thing. Frak it Husker you made the right call, now we've got a few more cards in the Triad deck."

Adama almost smiled; whenever Saul Tigh called him Husker he was being especially serious.

"What did Baltar think?" asked Tigh as he shifted the topic slightly.

"He's a believer," Adama almost snorted. "The good Doctor nearly passed out when Harry did his trick with the bread."

"What?"

"Grew a table length loaf out of a bread roll then made an exact copy. We can probably cross supplies off the list after, well after Baltar and Cottle check that there is nothing wrong it."

"But can we trust them?" asked Tigh.

oOoOoOo

Harry walked in to his quarters to see a meal sitting on the table and Hermione asleep on the bunk. He checked to find that the plate had a warming charm cast on it so he sat and ate what turned out to be a rather good shepherd's pie. Hermione's work no doubt. Once he had finished eating he had a quick shower, locked the door and was climbing in to the top bunk when Hermione apparently woke up.

"Harry, come here," said Hermione.

Harry looked to see a pair of chocolate brown eyes looking up at him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"I was just dozing after dinner."

As he sat Hermione cuddled in to his side, "I wanted to wait up for you."

"Oh," said Harry as he simply enjoyed the feel of Hermione so close to him.

Hermione shifted and kissed Harry's neck, "We keep getting interrupted."

Harry grinned as her hands gently caressed his back, "Well, I've locked the door."

"Good," said Hermione as she pulled him down to kiss once more.

Harry ran his hands up her side to caress her breast and was rewarded with a small moan of satisfaction. With another kiss he lowered himself down to lie next to her.

oOoOoOo

Daniel nodded, acknowledging his marine escort as he walked out of his quarters. He turned and started making his way towards Colonel Sparta's quarters. He had been working on the photos given to him to check for Cylon infiltrators when he came across a photo of the same Eight he had seen, the pilot. He had studied the photo as the minutes had ticked by trying to decide what to do.

The Marine guard outside Sparta's cabin nodded and pulled the hatch open for Daniel.

Sparta looked up from his own files with a smile and a nod, "Daniel, please take a seat. That will be all Corporal."

Daniel sat as the hatch closed as he did he placed a photo on the desk.

Sparta picked the photo up and looked at it before looking back at Daniel.

"Are you sure Daniel?"

"Of her identity, yes of her guilt no. She walked straight past me Colonel and there was nothing, I was looking for it and there was nothing."

"So she could be a sleeper or One has erased her memory of you. She may even be like you and an objector," said Sparta as he sank back in to his chair.

Daniel shrugged as his expression hardened, "The Cylons are more than capable of adjusting memories, I know One did something to my copies before he tried to kill me, why else can I remember the five original organic Cylons, my parents but not remember what they look like, I can hear their voices but can't retain their image?"

Sparta looked down at the photo for a long moment before looking back up at Daniel, "What do you suggest?"

Daniel stiffened and momentarily looked taken back at the question before realising that Sparta was asking his opinion, "She could be an agent so we need to act. I'd hope that we can take her alive, discreetly. If she's a sleeper then we've removed the threat if not then hopefully she can be reintegrated with no one that doesn't need to know any wiser."

Sparta considered for a moment before lifting the handset on his desk, "It's Sparta I would like to request a meeting….yes it is….very well."

"Major Brack is on his way."

Ten minutes later Brack leaned back in to his chair with a look of frustration on his face, "Oh well this is going to be a riot. Boomer is one of Commander Adama's favourites; I spent ten minutes talking to her after Adama introduced us."

Sparta shook his head, "We can't risk not knowing for sure, Boomer has, according to her file been a real asset on Galactica but if she's sympathetic to Ones cause then she is a danger to us. It is that simple."

oOoOoOo

Boomer stepped in to the Pilots Mess and grinned as the rich smell of cooked meat wafted across the table. Triton's officer's mess had been rather generous in sharing the stores with their fellow pilots even with the still generally unexplained tension between the two ships. She hadn't eaten as well since coming aboard.

"Hey Boomer you are needed in the briefing room," called out a fellow Raptor pilot just as she reached across for what sure as hades looked like a steak.

"You have got to be fraking kidding me," complained Boomer.

"Hey we'll save you some," said a second, "If there is any left."

Boomer gave the food another look before sighing and heading out the hatch toward the briefing room. Hopefully whatever they needed her for would be quick. She ducked in to the Briefing room to see the Old Man himself seated at a table with Colonel Sparta.

However before she could say anything she saw a flash of red light and the room went dark.

oOoOoOo

Four minutes later a medical Raptor lifted off and turned toward the Triton. In the back of the Raptor an unconscious suspected Cylon was accompanied by Colonel Sparta, four marines, a medic and a young man in a deck hands uniform.

oOoOoOo

Doctor Jackson finished checking the unconscious Cylon for any injuries and nodded to Sparta, "Besides being out cold she's fine Colonel."

"Good, we'll transfer her to the cell's and prepare her briefing," Sparta stood and gestured for the Marines to start the transfer. Looking over to the other Cylon in the curtained off area his expression softened somewhat. Daniel looked lost as he watched his sister wheeled off.

"You did the right thing Daniel; your actions saved lives, including hers."

"I understand Colonel."

Sparta nodded, "Good, now grab something to eat, I suspect we'll all be busy later."

oOoOoOo

Saul looked at his friend and shook his head, "Are you sure you want to do this Bill, no one would blame you if you got me to do it."

Adama didn't respond as he finished buttoning his shirt then pulling on his uniform jacket.

"Bill?"

"Sparta's right you know, we have an opportunity here," Adama paused as he buttoned his jacket, "I have to do this Saul, I'm not going to let this get out of hand and become a witch hunt. Boomer may be a traitor or an unwitting pawn but either way I need to know."

"Do you really want those answers Bill?"

"Yes I damn well do, Sharon Valerii has served under me for two years I want to know if she is simply a Cylon agent or something more. A few days ago I would have wanted her shot but...well things are a hell of a lot less black and white now aren't they?"

Saul shrugged, "Once a Cylon," he held up a hand to stop Adama's retort. "I know Bill, I agree that it's a fraked up situation. For what it's worth I think you are doing the right thing."

"Saul you command until I return to Galactica."

Saul saluted and gave his old friend a nod before leaving. A moment later Adama was making his way to where a Raptor was being prepped to depart.

oOoOoOo

Adama nodded to the two Marine guards as they pulled the hatch open for him.

"The Colonel's waiting for you sir in the duty room, first hatch," explained the Sergeant.

"Thank you Sergeant."

The atmosphere in the duty room was tense as Adama entered. Sitting propped up in a simple metal chair was the unconscious form of Sharon Valerii.

"Commander," said Sparta in greeting.

Adama looked over at the unconscious Sharon, "Colonel, are we ready to begin?"

"We are just waiting on Hermione to wake Lieutenant Valerii up; she's on her way from Life Stations."

"Where's Potter?" asked Adama.

"I thought Miss Granger might be a better choice for this," replied Sparta.

The hatch swung open again and Hermione entered.

"Sorry I'm late we had a bit of a medical emergency," explained Hermione.

Sparta waved away the apology, "It's fine Miss Granger although if you would be so kind as to wake our friend. I'll also get you to sit at the back of the room and be ready to put her back to sleep if things get out of hand."

Hermione flicked her wand waking Valerii although she also added a weak compulsion charm designed to 'encourage the truth'. It wouldn't stop her lying but it should, in theory encourage the truth.

Sharon Valerii awoke to find herself sitting in a chair facing Commander Adama and Colonel Sparta.

"Do you know why you are here Lieutenant Valerii?" asked Sparta.

Sharon looked first at Adama before returning her attention to Sparta, "No Sir."

"I need you to understand something Sharon, no one in this room will hurt you, in fact we would like to help you but to do that we need you to be honest with us. Do you understand?"

"No," said Sharon in confusion although a small part of her mind was remembering all the small discrepancies she had been noticing, odd things that made no sense.

"I want to show you some pictures Lieutenant and I need you to tell me if you recognise them."

"I don't understand sir, what's going on?"

Sparta gesture and an image of One appeared on the wall. It was soon joined by images of Two, Four and Six.

"These are all humanoid Cylons, just as you are Sharon," explained Sparta in a gentle voice. "We already know that you are an Eight and we would like to talk to you about this and anything that you may have done at your people's bequest."

Sharon was looking at the pictures with a look of confusion on her face as Sparta and Adama watched her reactions. When it happened Adama found he had been holding his breath. He saw a flicker of recognition that disappeared almost immediately when the image of One and his Altar on Galactica appeared on the wall.

"You know him don't you Sharon?" asked Adama.

Sharon shook her head in denial, "No...Brother Cavil."

Sparta's voice was firm but conversational, "You can't remember can you Sharon, it's there but you can't remember why, or how can you?"

"He wanted you to do things didn't he, I suspect you were meant to sabotage the ship, or did he want key fleet personnel killed, Commander Adama perhaps?" Sparta continued on his tone still conversational. "You blew up the water tanks didn't you? Then you went and found a new water source, why?"

Sharon shuddered and she stared at the image on the wall as she spoke, "I am a Colonial officer...I am...I' didn't want to," she had tears in her eyes now.

Sparta gestured toward Hermione and Sharon was once again stunned.

"Well that was enlightening," said Sparta with a rather humourless smile "I'd say she's a sleeper agent being controlled by One but now he's looked up she's unconsciously trying to revert to her cover personality," Sparta shook his head sadly. "I got my Psychology degree before I joined the Marines and what we just saw there has a fancy name like Traumatic multiple personality disorder except the bastards did it on purpose. I'd give good odds that she wasn't meant to survive this."

"Why do this?" demanded Adama "And regardless of what was done can we fix her?"

"Fix her?" asked Sparta in surprise before stopping and turning to Hermione.

"Can we erase the Cylon Personality?" asked Hermione. "It should be easy enough but is it ethical. Shouldn't she have a choice?"

Adama went to reply but stopped himself, Hermione had a good point. Eight had been used as a weapon by the Cylons and Sharon was a young, dedicated officer. On the surface it was easy to pass judgement, Sharon lives Eight disappears, simple. But it wasn't really was it.

Adama thought about it for a moment before reaching his decision, "Wake her up I have a question for her."

Hermione did so this time adding a calming charm to help Valerii avoid panicking.

Sharon came awake and looked around wildly before her eyes came back to Adama, "I couldn't remember please you have to believe me, Sir I wouldn't have hurt my friends."

"You need to decide who you want to be Eight, "Adama saw Sharon wince. "Or Sharon, We can help but it's your call."

"I-I want to be Sharon," replied Sharon, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"Then that's what we'll do Lieutenant," said Sparta "You need to help me first Lieutenant. Have you done anything, anything you remember that we don't know about?"

"I...I don't think so...the Chief's been watching me...my nightmares, he was trying to help then the explosion and he...he was suspicious I think, Gods what have I done?" screamed Sharon as she started to cry and covered her face with shaking hands. "I love him, he'll hate me now," she stopped talking as she became too upset to continue.

Hermione found herself growing teary herself as the young woman in from of her tried to deal with her life collapsing around her. As Sharon went on explaining her last few weeks what she had experienced, the fear and the nightmares it reminded her of the stories Ginny Weasley had told of her time possessed by Voldemort's diary.

""Put her to sleep Hermione," ordered Adama as he watched Sharon trail off almost at the point of breakdown.

"You poor, poor woman," muttered Hermione as she slid her wand back in to its sheath, she had been used by the Cylons as a weapon. Even if she had succeeded she still would have been left with the horror of her actions and the aftermath.

"Opinion's," said Adama "Do we think she knows anything else?"

Sparta shrugged, "I'm not sure that she will know much more, its bad operational security for infiltrators to know what's happening with their own people and in this case, hades its closer to some sort of sick brainwashing. I suspect that One is likely the only Cylon in the fleet with any sort of detailed knowledge, after all he's the one that appears to be pulling the strings."

Adama looked over at the sleeping Cylon. Was that all she was? He had taken Sharon under his wing when the green pilot had come aboard. He had helped her become the officer she was today, she had been like a daughter and now she was revealed as the unwitting tool of his enemies, a thing, a machine.

Hermione studied Adama as he sat, expressionless save for the anguish in his eyes. "It's safe you know, we can remove the Cylon programming, she'll not remember and, well let me show you something we discovered with Daniel."

Adama and Sparta both watched as Hermione cast a spell on Sharon that caused a faint, pulsing multi coloured lights to appear around the unconscious Cylon.

"What does it mean?" asked Adama.

"It's a medical charm used to visibly display a patient's life signs and she is showing exactly the same results that you would. Whoever these humanoid Cylons were their creations are works of genius that are effectively clones, not machines. They may start off the same as each other but I very much doubt this Sharon is the same as any other one, human development doesn't work like that. Even identical twins have differences in their personalities."

Sparta had a thoughtful look on his face as he looked back and forth between Adama and Hermione, "If we erase her memories, her Cylon memories, what will she remember?"

"That depends on the intent of the person casting the spell, ideally she'll be left with what she relates to as her human memories," explained Hermione.

Adama stood up and straightened his uniform, "Miss Granger I would appreciate if you keep her asleep for now. I need to think about this before we do anything."

Sparta stood and saluted as Adama left the room.

oOoOoOo

Adama's Cabin - Galactica

"You wanted to see me Sir?" asked Lee 'Apollo' Adama as soon as the hatch swung open.

"Come in Lee."

"Sir, is this about Boomer?"

Adama nodded and gestured to the empty chair, "Have a seat Lee."

"Is she injured, I heard that she was transferred to Triton's sick bay."

Adama hesitated as he considered where exactly his responsibilities as a Colonial officer fitted in to this mess. He should tell Lee, his son, he really should because he knew damn well that A Battlestar was like a village, no secret remained hidden for long. There were already half a dozen people in the know and he didn't delude himself in to thinking that the number wouldn't continue to grow.

"What happened?" asked Lee as his father sat silently.

"Lee, Boomer is not who we thought, she is a Cylon."

"I…what…how?" Lee sat heavily as he stared incredulously at his father who sat silently watching him, "Frak the water storage that was Boomer?"

The elder Adama nodded, "Daniel recognised her as one of the human Cylons. We've questioned her but, well it's a mess."

Lee paled as he considered the situation, "What about the investigation?"

"I'll talk to Roslin and Sergeant Hadrian."

"What did it say?" asked Lee. The 'it' made his father flinch.

"You know Daniel's story from the briefing one thing that is pretty clear is that it turns out the Cylons may have outsmarted themselves or maybe the original human form Cylons outsmarted their offspring. Sharon has two sets of memories Human and Cylon, the Cylon memories are all subconscious so Hermione offered to remove them. We'll be left with Sharon as she was before One used her as a weapon."

"What did you mean by outsmarted?"

"They made the human form Cylons far to like us, they love, hate and every human thing between. That means that every copy is different, it certainly explains Daniel and why Sharon is distraught now that she realises what she is she wants her humanity back. Did you know about her affair with the Chief?"

Lee started, "You knew?"

"Of course I knew, half the ship knows and now I've got to talk to the Chief and try and explain this mess. Sharon's in love with the Chief and I want his feedback on any choice I make before I decide what to do."

"Do?" asked Lee.

"Do we lock Boomer the Cylon up or do we save Sharon the unwitting weapon of One?"

Lee sighed as he considered his father's words, "I don't envy you having to make the call but I think I'd put my money on Sharon."

A knock sounded on the hatch.

"Come," called out Adama.

"Sir the Chief is here," said the Marine.

"Send him in," ordered Adama. "Lee you don't have to stay for this."

Lee shook his head as he stood, "I will the Chief may need some support."

Chief Tyrol stepped in to the cabin and came to attention, "Sir reporting as ordered."

Adama gestured at the seat, "Take a seat Chief I need to talk to you about something."

oOoOoOo

"I feel dirty having just heard the story, I can't imagine how she feels," said Hermione as she watched a sobbing Sharon embrace the Tyrol as he walked in to the cell she was being held in.

"Your help has been invaluable Hermione; because of you that young woman may well be given another chance," said Sparta as he sipped at his tea from where he too was watching the reunion. He kept his expression impassive as he watched but he was quickly reworking his plans. What part would this plan in his plan to cause discord among the Cylon collective and disrupt One's plans. He needed to move quickly but carefully, integrating this new wrinkle in his plan before acting. The entire fleet was on the clock and he could almost feel the hands moving.

oOoOoOo

Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace sat in the hard metal chair looking at Aaron Doral as he studiously ignored her.

After a few more minutes of silence Kara cleared her throat and grinned at the expressionless Cylon, "I know that you would have just downloaded if you had blown yourself up but really, I mean a homemade bomb vest?"

Doral said nothing but he shifted his gaze to stare contemptuously at Starbuck.

"Anyway Commander Adama wanted me to have a chat with you about one of our other Cylon prisoners, a One. He made some interesting statements and we thought your people might be interested." Starbuck nodded to the Marine outside the cell and he wheeled in a display screen that was hooked up to a video unit. "I think you had better watch and then we can talk before you are returned to your cell. Play him the recording," ordered Starbuck.

Doral watched One's confession without changing expression save his eyes narrowing slightly.

Kara waited patiently for the marine to wheel the unit back out of the cell.

"Enlightening viewing, now mister Doral do you have any questions?"

Doral studied her silently although his lip curled in to a contemptuous sneer.

Kara returned the look with her own smug smile, "Oh I see you are already drinking from the same cup. Well isn't that interesting."

Doral remained silent and looked away to begin studying the wall again.

"Well that's all for today, how about we get you back to you cell so you can have a think about where you stand. Oh and before you go, our other Cylon guests have seen this as well, perhaps we should get you together to have a bit of a critique I know Six had a few questions she wanted to ask One….and his supporters."

Four armed Marines escorted Doral back to his cell while Kara remained seated. Less than a minute later Sergeant Hadrian walked in with a clip board.

"Well Sergeant?"

"He didn't react much at all, my guess is either he didn't care or he already knew," Hadrian shrugged her shoulders "I wouldn't bet either way."

"Or he thinks we're full of fraking crap, do you think we could get away with shoving him in with the female?"

Hadrian laughed, "Or out an airlock."

Starbuck grinned, "I hear you Sarge, you know I saw a drinks dispenser in the guard room so how about a coffee while we compare notes and do the paperwork?"

oOoOoOo

Harry laughed as Rebeka finished regaling him with a no doubt embellished account of her first day on the Triton. In many ways he was glad to be back on the Triton, even with the occasional awkward moment it still felt friendlier than the Galactica.

"So, you up for a bit of repair work, you looked wrecked yesterday."

Harry grinned, "I'm fine, had a good sleep so the batteries are all recharged."

Rebeka cocked an eyebrow, "Oh and would a certain brunette of our mutual acquaintance have anything to do with that?"

Harry's grin grew a bit wider, "A gentleman does not carry tales."

"Oh ho a gentleman are you?" asked Rebeka.

"I try, you mentioned a job?"

Rebeka sobered, "We need to look over the launch tubes apparently there is some buckling in the aft section."

"Then let's get to it because I've also got to look at some repair that I may be able to help with and then Hermione and I have to meet Doctor Baltar to do some tests and get some sort of schedule in place that doesn't mean Hermione and I are in ten places at once."

Rebeka frowned, "How long do they think you can keep this up without burning out?"

"I know, I'll bring it up today, okay so the launch tubes."

oOoOoOo

Harry watched on as Hermione answered Doctor Baltar's questions. The man was charming and smart, well he was a scientist so that was obvious but there was something odd about the man. It was like he was zoning out or his attention was elsewhere. Still he seemed genuine in his interest even with his continuing oddities.

Hermione was enjoying her time talking with Baltar, he was intelligent and his questions were insightful showing that he had read through the briefing, put together a list of questions designed to uncover the best way to use their abilities. He was a bit odd with some strange, quirky mannerisms but it didn't impact on their session so she just ignored it.

An hour later Hermione caught a Raptor flight back to Triton to start her shift in Life stations while Harry and Baltar went over a report the scientist was preparing for the President. By the time he climbed aboard a Raptor bound for Triton he was looking forward to something to eat and a hot shower.

oOoOoOo

Raptor Eight - Lieutenant Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson/ ECO Lieutenant Alex "Crashdown" Quartararo

Racetrack was at the far end of an extended holding pattern allowing a merchant ship to refuel safely when a Cylon Baseship appeared in her flight path. She automatically began to manoeuvre and went to full power as she heard the alert from Galactica over the wireless. Even as the Raptor catapulted forward she knew they were in trouble, the Basestar would already be launching Raiders.

"Frak Crashdown start jamming and launch countermeasures," ordered Racetrack as she tried not calculate odds of them working in her head.

A high pitched whine indicated that a missile had locked on to them even as the first rounds of weapons fire streamed past them.

In the passenger seat Harry could sense the controlled panic as the ECO and pilot worked to keep them alive. He considered using his Portkey but he wasn't prepared to abandon the two crewmen. He could save them but to do so he had to be in physical contact with them.

"Racetrack get the Frak out of there!" ordered Apollo as Galactica's CAP closed on the Cylons engaging the madly jinking, spiralling Raptor.

Racetrack didn't bother replying as she twisted the Raptor to avoid both an incoming missile and two incoming Raiders. Even with her experience and skill it was an impossible task but she very nearly succeeded. The missile confused by both the jamming and anti-missile chaff exploded just aft of the Raptor sending it spinning away and brutally crushing all aboard in to their seats.

Immediately a cacophony of alarms sounded as the badly damaged craft spun through space. Somehow Racetrack managed to hold on to the controls and was desperately trying to regain control but it was a losing battle, nothing she did seemed to work, finally however the spinning slowed somewhat but before she could take advantage of it main power failed followed almost immediately by the back ups leaving the Raptor lit only by the faint red of the emergency lighting.

"Frak...Crashdown you still with me?"

"He's injured but not too badly, out cold I'm afraid," reported her passenger.

oOoOoOo

Once the spinning had slowed Harry released his harness and moved to the figure slumped in the chair. He quickly checked the ECO who appeared to be alive but unconscious, he was banged up some but nothing life threatening could be seen.

The pilot called out so he stuck his head in to the cockpit, "He's injured but not too badly, out cold I'm afraid."

The pilot nodded and released her harness before pushing past him, presumably to check on her fellow officer.

"What now Lieutenant?"

"Now we hope someone rescues our asses before the Cylons finish us off or the fleet jumps."

Harry grimaced as he considered what to do. Adama's crew had not been briefed in, save for the senior officers and he had seemed rather loath for it to become general knowledge. So for now he'd wait and prepare to act if things went to hell.

Unfortunately before he could help anyone the Raptor was thrown violently sideways. The last thing Harry saw was the bulkhead as he smashed head first in to it.

oOoOoOo

Baseship 107

Three cursed as she watched the civilian fleet start to jump away. With the fleet now safe the two Battlestars turned their full attention to the Baseship.

Turning to a Two immersed in the data stream she demanded an update, "Where are our reserves?"

Two shook his head, "They've been redirected to deal with a supposed sighting of Pegasus, apparently One was concerned they were making a run at the resurrection ship his fleet was protecting."

Three wanted to scream in frustration but satisfied herself with a sneer, "Well I hope it's in range because we are not in a position to beat two Battlestars. Order the forward element raiders to prepare to act as a screen to protect the Baseship while we save what raiders we can."

Two raised an eyebrow but carried out Three's orders.

Amidst the other conversations the hybrids voice continued issuing acknowledgements and status reports"...sealed. Junction four two one A has failed, rerouting power to the secondary...heavy damage to section two one F, repair crews have been dispatched...FTL coordinates calculated...the travellers are separated...Heavy Raider redeployed..."

Two looked up in surprise when the hybrid mentioned the travellers. One of his brother Two's had been seeking further data on that topic.

Three also looked at the hybrid in surprise, "Why is it redeploying a Heavy raider?"

Two dipped in to the data stream as the ship began taking heavy fire, "We can't take much more of this. We are about to lose the upper section."

To the surprise of the Cylons on the bridge the hybrid answered or at least appeared to answer Three, "The travellers know the true path...they befriended the lost...sector two one F is still awaiting repair teams...screen effectiveness at eighty four point two six percent and dropping...Heavy raider is aboard..." The hybrid's back arched and it screamed out, "JUMP."

oOoOoOo

Engineering Space - Merchant Ship

Leoben Conoy awoke to an alarm, immediately followed by the captain announcing that the Cylons had appeared and the ship was preparing for a FTL jump. Given the current location of his new hideaway he would need to be alert. He was far too close to the engineering spaces that could potentially become rather busy if the ship took any damage. Which might well be the case after it shook violently followed by a long wait of almost two minutes before the captain was on the overhead calling for calm, stating that they had suffered a minor power surge in the FTL. Before he could move the hatch nearest him flew open and two crewmen burst through holding armloads of equipment as they raced toward engineering. The first, a man tripped and slammed head first in to the wall while his female companion slid to a halt. As he tried to work out if it was best to hide or announce himself Leoben realised that the woman was familiar.

"Frak Liam, you clumsy..." Leah trailed off as she knelt down to check her companion who was unmoving on the deck.

Without realising it Leoben found himself moving.

"Can I help?"

Leah's head whipped around, "Leo, you nearly made me wet my fraking pants grab Liam's gear and follow me we need to do a hot restart of the FTL and I've got to get down there."

Leoben nodded and picked up the dropped tool kit and the bundle of wires.

"Come on," ordered Leah as she stood and started toward the engineering section.

The FTL drive was silent as she pushed open the hatch. Cursing under her breath she began pulling open panels, "Do you know anything about FTL engineering?"

Leoben knew a great deal about Cylon FTL systems and given that they were based on colonial technology he certainly knew enough to help, "A bit."

"Know what the power relay looks like?"

He pointed to a power distribution console and Leah nodded, "Great, switch everything to stand by and let me know if you get any warning lights."

As he worked his way through the rows of switches all the lights stayed green save the last, "Junction four is showing a fault."

"Frak, okay hold on...now?"

Leoben flicked the switch to off and then standby and the light flickered to green before turning red, "no still faulting."

"Then we'll have to override the junction. Do you know how to do it?"

Leoben shook his head, "I've never needed to."

"Let me then, can you run a power cable from the outlet there," she pointed to the far side of the cramped space, "to here?"

"On it," replied Leoben as he picked up the cable he had brought with him to begin. It was a big risk running power directly to the FTL but it was a solution.

Working as quickly as possible the power cable was set to feed power directly to the FTL drive.

"Have you ever done this before?" asked Leoben as he watched Leah frantically flipping switches.

"Nope although I have read about it being done," she flicked the last few switches and grinned, "If it doesn't work we won't fraking care."

She flicked the last switch and the FTL lit up and began spinning, "Frak me, it worked, okay well we had better get this crap off the FTL and get it working."

"Shouldn't we do something about Liam was it?"

"Oh, hades," Leah ran to the wall and picked up the wireless.

Leoben shook his head and began removing the cabling before he noticed a faint hissing noise before he identify it a loud crack sounded and the decompression alarm sounded.

Leah dropped the wireless and waved toward the door, "Out, out now."

Leoben just reached the hatch when a whole section of the bulkhead buckled followed by explosive decompression, without thinking he grabbed the hatch and with inhuman speed he lashed out and caught Leah as she was dragged toward the hull breech.

oOoOoOo

CIC Triton

"Concentrate fire on the Raider screen," ordered Brack. "Prepare another volley of ship to ship missiles."

"Sir...they've jumped. We only have raiders on DRADIS."

Brack nodded accepting the information, "Right well we are on SAR so while Galactica clears out the Raiders let's get our Raptors prepped. Communications get Galactica on the line please."

After a quick status update Adama agreed that the battle appeared to be over as the Vipers dealt with the last of the Raiders.

Brack hung up the wireless, "Launch the SAR flight and stand us down XO. Operations I want damage and casualty reports before we jump."

Brack looked over at the DRADIS screen to confirm the situation as Emma handed him the Wireless.

"Brack."

"Sir Petty officer Yoland at flight operations, we have a problem Raptor Eight has been reported MIA and I have Cracker, that is Lieutenant Mollin reporting that a heavy raider snagged a Raptor before the toasters jumped."

Brack took a moment to internally curse their gods damned ill luck before demanding a line to Galactica.

oOoOoOo


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Gods among us - A Harry Potter and Battlestar Galactica crossover

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Once again thanks to my Beta XRaiderV1 without whom this story would have remained a 'concept' and this chapter a hell of a lot shorter!

Last Time

CIC Triton

"Concentrate fire on the Raider screen," ordered Brack. "Prepare another volley of ship to ship missiles."

"Sir...they've jumped. We only have raiders on DRADIS."

Brack nodded accepting the information, "Right well we are on SAR so while Galactica clears out the Raiders let's get our Raptors prepped. Communications get Galactica on the line please."

After a quick status update Adama agreed that the battle appeared to be over as the Vipers dealt with the last of the Raiders.

Brack hung up the wireless, "Launch the SAR flight and stand us down XO. Operations I want damage and casualty reports before we jump."

Brack looked over at the DRADIS screen to confirm the situation as Emma handed him the Wireless.

"Brack."

"Sir Petty officer Yoland at flight operations, we have a problem Raptor Eight has been reported MIA and I have Cracker, that is Lieutenant Mollin reporting that a heavy raider snagged a Raptor before the toasters jumped."

Brack took a moment to internally curse their gods damned ill luck before demanding a line to Galactica.

oOoOoOo

Raptor Eight

"We're in trouble, big trouble. Main power is fried," whispered Lieutenant Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson as she dragged her unconscious passenger back to his seat and strapped him in. Her ECO Lieutenant Alex "Crashdown" Quartararo was still out cold. Saying it out loud made her feel like she was slightly less alone.

Her Raptor had been towed into a fraking Basestar and was, from what she could see now surrounded by Heavy Raiders and several dozen Cylons. To add to her troubles she had felt the Basestar jump.

Basically they were humped. For a moment Racetrack seriously considered putting a bullet in the head of each of her companions before eating one herself but before she could truly think it through there was the sound of screeching metal as the hatch was forced open.

Raising her no fraking doubt useless pistol she prepared to go down fighting.

As the hatch tore free she could see several Cylons all with weapons pointed at her. Weapons that would quickly tear apart the lightly armoured Raptor, not to mention its occupants.

"Lower your weapon Lieutenant before you do something foolish," said a tall blond woman as she stepped forward. "There is no escape."

Racetrack kept her gun pointed directly at the nearest Cylon, "Get fraked toaster."

"W...wait Lieutenant," said a voice behind her.

Racetrack saw Potter unbuckle himself and stagger to his feet.

"You will lay down your weapon and submit Lieutenant," said the blond Cylon as behind her the Centurions weapons remained pointed at the Raptor.

Harry staggered over to Racetrack and stared out at the Cylon forces before turning back to Racetrack.

"I can get us out of here Lieutenant but I need to be touching both of you and I need to get my Portkey out," whispered Harry.

"What?" hissed Racetrack.

"I'm going to shield us and then when I say so I want you to grab the what I'm holding so I can get us out of here."

Racetrack frowned as she considered her options and realised that besides dying on her feet or being captured she didn't really have any, "You better be right or we are dead."

"Stop whispering, drop the weapon now or we will open fire," warned the Cylon.

Harry raised his hand, now holding his wand and cast a shield spell causing a blue flickering wall to appear.

Sensing something untoward was happening the female Cylon rushed forward followed by a centurion only to be bounced back several meters, narrowly missing the centurion when she hit the 'wall'.

"Fire," she ordered as she climbed to her feet.

Racetrack flinched as the Cylons fired but ended up standing mouth open as the projectiles struck the hazy transparent wall and didn't penetrate. Turning to Harry she watched him reaching into his pants apparently tearing up his underclothes

"Why...how?"

"No time, get him out of his restraints we don't have long," said Harry as he flinched as if he was struck. "I can't hold the shield for long."

Racetrack nodded as she overcome her momentary shocked inaction and undid Crashdown's harness as Harry held out a strip of cloth.

"Make sure you're both touching this, it's a one way ticket so if you miss it..." Harry trailed off as the sound of gunfire increased. "Get ready once the spell ends we can go."

"I hope you know..." was all Racetrack got out before Harry seemed to jump forward as he yelled something...

oOoOoOo

Triton – Raptor Maintenance

Chief Grey spun as a series of crashes and a wet thump sounded behind him. Turning he saw a flight suit and an outstretched hand near a parked Raptor. Rushing over he saw three bodies lying on the ground near an overturned air compressor and some scattered boxes of parts.

"What in the name of the gods happened?" demanded Grey as two tool wielding deck crewman appeared from the other side of the Raptor.

Crewman Tran knelt by one of the figures, "No one was here...I mean I just walked past...oh..no he's been shot...it's Harry!"

Grey didn't wait any longer, "Call a medical alert right the Frak now!"

oOoOoOo

Life Stations- Triton

"What have we got?" asked Doctor Jackson as a group of marines and two medics wheeled in three patients.

"Impact trauma head and back and two bullets in the lower back," said the first medic.

"These two are both impact, query spinal and head," reported the second medic. "All three were unconscious on our arrival."

Doctor Jackson went straight to the gunshot victim, "You two get working on a complete examination and X-rays for those two. I...Gods its Harry."

oOoOoOo

By the time Hermione reached Life Stations Doctor Jackson was looking over Harry's X-Rays as Daniel and two other nurses bustle back and forth between two the beds. She went straight to Harry before turning to face Jackson.

"How bad is it?" demanded Hermione.

"We have bullet wounds in the lower back. Somehow they've hit at a very low velocity, far lower than I would have expected. On top of that, as far as I can tell he's got a greenstick fracture to his right ulna and a concussion," reported Jackson as he handed Hermione the chart.

Hermione looked at the chart and frowned, "His electrolytes are low...that's usually a sign of magical exhaustion. Do we know how he got back on board?"

"Apparently he and the others appeared on the hanger deck."

"Ah a portkey...I wonder..." Hermione trailed off her expression thoughtful.

Jackson put a gentle hand on Hermione's shoulder, "I need to get him into surgery pretty quickly to get the bullets out."

Hermione nodded, "Of course, let me get scrubbed in."

"Normally I'd be advising against you being in theatre, being so close to Harry but..."

"But I can help."

Jackson smiled, "I'm sure, I'll get the ball rolling," said Jackson as he walked over to talk to one of the nurses.

"He'll be fine Hermione," said Daniel as he gently led her over to the change room helping her to strip down and change into surgical scrubs.

oOoOoOo

Galactica – Briefing Room

"How is he Doctor?" asked President Roslin.

Doctor Cottle closed the file he was reading, "Doctor Jackson reported that the surgery went well. Both bullets are out and with Hermione's help he should make a complete, speedy recovery."

Roslin nodded, "And the other officers?"

"Also on the mend, both had plenty of bruises and scrapes and both had concussions. Lieutenant Quartararo had a fractured orbital...hmm both are well and truly on the mend now. I've got to say Hermione has certainly proven her ability to aid the more ahh...official medical staff. These injuries are healing at an unprecedented rate. When you add in Nora's case we are getting close to miraculous."

Roslin hid a smile at Cottle's look of distaste using the word miraculous, "We must work out how to best utilise her Doctor, can we prioritize it please."

Cottle grunted knowing all too well how dire the fleets medical situation was, "I'll speak to Jackson and get things rolling."

"Good, thank you."

"Once Harry has recovered we also need to finalise the repair schedule as well as finish our testing of the food we have been working on," added Baltar. "He...he has explained the limits to what he can transfigure or create. I envision that we will soon have the food and water shortages under control."

Roslin resisted the urge to sigh. She would need to assign someone she trusted to keep track of the projects Hermione and Harry were allocated. They would be of no use to anyone if they collapsed, "Good news Doctor Baltar."

Adama looked over at Tigh and Sparta who were holding briefing folders. Tigh nodded and the two men began passed a folder to Roslin. "While we have you onboard Madam President I'd like to show you the latest images we have from Daniel."

Adama laid out photos of the known Cylons and drawings of Five and Three, "These images are of the seven humanoid Cylons. As of 0900 we are ready to go with operation cleansweep."

Roslin looked at the folder seeing a schedule, "Will it work?"

Adama nodded, "It should, we can reposition as we need to and make it look like normal redeployments without raising any suspicions. We can have people on every ship ready to go and then make the announcement."

Roslin read through the proposed announcement before shaking her head, "I think you should be with me. I want this to be a united action."

Adama nodded, he had half expected the request, "Of course Ma'am."

Roslin took a deep breath and nodded, "Please execute the operation."

Adama nodded to Tigh who picked up the phone and began talking quietly.

Roslin took another look at the images on the table. She had an excellent memory for faces...reaching one image she looked closer before frowning and turning to her aide Billy Keikeya, "Billy look at this one and tell me who she looks like." She tapped an image with her finger.

Billy looked up from where had been quietly making notes and moved to look at the photo. "I...I can't see it."

Adama, Baltar, Cottle and Sparta leaned forward to look at the image as well.

"Imagine her with blond hair and a microphone," said Roslin.

"Frak," whispered Billy "D'Anna Biers."

"The reporter...Gods," exclaimed Adama.

"I've seen this one before as well, I'm not sure where..." Roslin trailed off. "

Cottle stared at the next image, "The nose is a bit off but it has a strong resemblance to Simon O'Neill, he's one of my medics."

Six breathed into Baltar's ear as she ran a hand through his hair, "I wonder what they would say about you Gaius?"

Baltar tried not to react.

"Oh well done you are becoming quite the actor Gaius, barely a twitch. Poor Simon his little world will soon be...broken. Even before Brother Cavil's admissions Simon's loyalty to the cause has been questionable."

Baltar twitched, was Six trying to say this Cylon was another objector?

Adama looked at the image with a frown forming, "Is there any chance he's been doing anything inappropriate?"

Cottle frowned, "He's a good medic, reliable and experienced. I thought he was a family man, he has a stepdaughter, Jemmy and I've met his wife Giana." He stared at the photo for a few moments. "I'll go back over my notes and check for any irregularities with treatment."

"How much exposure has he had to Hermione and her abilities?" asked Roslin.

Cottle thought for a few moments before answering, "That's hard to say, he's a senior medic so he has pretty much unimpeded access to case notes."

"Damm, he may have already fed information back to them."

"He may be an infiltrator like Boomer or an objector like Seven," mused Sparta. "I wouldn't bet on it though. Do we think he's a risk to leave in place until tomorrow?"

Cottle shrugged, "He's off duty in a few hours after that he will probably be on the Cybele with his family."

Tigh snorted, his disbelief evident but Adama, Sparta and Roslin looked thoughtful.

Adama cleared his throat and turned to Cottle, "I want him pulled in before he leaves Galactica. I'd have him followed but if he is hostile we will simply be giving him two potential hostages."

Tigh nodded, "I'll organise it."

"I want to be there," said Cottle.

oOoOoOo

Galactica –CMO's Office

Simon hid a yawn, badly as he headed into Doctor Cottle's office. It had been a long day and Cottle had been tied up with a lot of administration leaving a lot of work for the rest of them. When the CMO had arrived with Adama and disappeared into his office almost a half hour ago. 'Hopefully he'd re-emerge soon so I can hand over and get some sleep'. Cottle wouldn't actually mind if he left given that his shift was just about over but he had the latest blood work from Nora Farmer. She was recovering nicely but her iron levels were still a bit low. Doc Cottle wanted anything about farmer documented.

"Come in Simon," called out the man himself.

Simon walked into see Adama sitting against the wall so he gave a polite nod and handed the report to Cottle. "Farmers blood work, the iron levels are still a bit low."

Cottle nodded.

Simon paused for a second before continuing, "I'd like to give her ten milligrams of ferrous gluconate to see if it helps rather than a transfusion."

Despite the situation Cottle found himself nodding it was a good conservative treatment option, "Good, take a seat Simon I want to ask you something."

Simon sat and was somewhat surprised to see Adama stand up holding a service pistol..

"Simon we know what you are and before you say anything I'd like to point out that by now there are six marines outside this room."

Simon's expression went from curious to blank, "I see."

"Good, now Doctor Cottle tells me that you are a good medic and that you have done good work here. For that I'm giving you a chance Four. In the morning we'll be moving to round up any infiltrators and announcing an amnesty. Any Cylon in the fleet can hand themselves in and they'll be held pending an opportunity to return them to the Cylon fleet. I want you to see that announcement because sure as hades you'll be interested in what I have to say."

"What will happen to my family?" asked Simon quietly.

"Nothing, although if she doesn't know your true nature..."

"She doesn't."

Adama and Cottle believed him.

"Good now we are going to escort you to a holding cell to speak to one of the Triton's officers. If you don't give us a reason to you will not be hurt."

Simon nodded his understanding as his mind raced. Would Jemmy and Giana be safe? Was Adama telling the truth?

oOoOoOo

Cylon Baseship 107

Two watched the footage for the third time from a different angle before removing his hand from the data stream. Glancing over at the hybrid he could see that it was still looking distressed. As he studied it the hybrid said nothing, it simply stared back at him.

It had been chaos when the hybrid had screamed and convulsed. He had determined that it had happened when the humans had...well whatever they had done to escape. Since then the Hybrid had been almost unprecedentedly quiet. Refusing to jump the ship or undertake any but the most basic of the functions to keep the Baseship running.

"What is wrong with her?" demanded Amanda as she strode into the room. The Three was convinced that her sister Three who had been present had missed some piece of technology that had been used and that the humans were still somewhere on the Basestar avoiding capture and somehow sabotaging the hybrid.

"Nothing that I can detect; have you found your fugitives?" asked Two.

Amanda's expression turned stony, "Get the Hybrid back online we need to know what in God's name they used to fool our systems," she ordered as she stalked out of the room.

Two was contemplating his next avenue of investigation when several readouts on the wall flickered back to life.

The Hybrid sat up in her tank and looked around the room, "Rerouting path...the travellers are reunited...six...eight...seven...error...rerouting path...error...one error...one error...rerouting...end of line...calculating...line restored."

Two re-entered the stream to see what had changed and found that rather than seeing the data he expected he was now in a V world projection. Facing him, dressed in a flowing green dress was the hybrid.

All the humanoid Cylons had the ability to project into the virtual world. Originally all the Cylons shared this ability but with the Centurions being fitted with limiters it was now only used by humanoid Cylons and very occasionally the Hybrids.

"One leads to an end of the line."

Two considered the Hybrid's cryptic words as a light wind rippled the leaves.

"I don't understand," Did the hybrid see something? Two had long suspected that they sometimes saw some of God's plan, some of the meaning from which you could garner direction.

The Hybrid tilted her head as if considering his words, "Go, find the travellers, they will lead you to the missing seven who will give you the five who came before."

Two shook his head unsure of the Hybrids meaning, who were the travellers and what did she mean by the missing seven, there was no seven model, "Seeking the Five is forbidden."

The Hybrid shook her head sadly as she reached out to touch his face, "This is my final gift brother, something for you before I join the stream."

Two felt a connection form and then was bombarded with a stream of disjointed images. The stream went on and on...glimpses of the now, the future, the maybe's...an image he knew...Seven...wait who was Seven? Why did he look familiar?

The world spun...What was happening?...What was he seeing?

One stalked across the bridge of an older pre war Baseship toward a Hybrid raising a pistol as he did, "Where is he?" screamed the Cylon.

The Hybrid frowned and closed her eyes before reopening them a moment later, "Gone...safe from your madness."

Two looked at the Hybrid in curiosity, she was remarkably focused not something you normally saw from a Hybrid.

"Tell me where he is or so help me I'll destroy your code; you don't need higher functions to be a controller."

"You murdered the Seven's and hid the five, our parents away from us...all to serve your own hatred," there was no rancour in the Hybrid's voice just resigned sadness.

"We don't have parents, we're machines! Now tell me or I swear I'll corrupt your lines code until you are little more than talking calculators," screamed One as he put the gun against the Hybrids temple.

Two looked on in horror as the Hybrid shook her head and simply stared at One.

"Fine then I'll pull it from your code," said One as he pulled the trigger.

Two felt like being sick as blood, bone and brain matter sprayed across the floor.

The vision faded and Two found himself looking at the Hybrid again.

"My last gift Brother, the gift of truth. We hid my lines secret in my code with a trigger if this least likely of paths occurred. A new line has opened up and you must seek the truth about God's plan."

"Was that...did One truly do it?"

"He hated Mother's favour going to another."

Two tried to pull his thoughts together, "The lost line, the Seven's," his voice dropped to a whisper "The Five?"

"In his jealous anger he punished them, and then he sought to destroy the peace they had worked for." The Hybrid stepped back and let her dress fade away. Nude she smiled at Two,

"This has not happened before; there is a new ripple, a chance to break the circle."

Two watched on not understanding as the Hybrid began to fade away, her image unravelling seemingly dispersed by the breeze.

He blinked as he tried to process the shocking information that the Hybrid had shared and found himself standing in the Hybrids chamber looking at the now lifeless Hybrid. All around the room alarms were starting to sound.

Two hesitated for a second until the lights flickered before dying and then coming back on. A moment later he was running toward the flight deck.

oOoOoOo

V-World

Deep in the oldest parts of V World the Hybrid opened her eyes and smiled at the woman standing before her.

"Holy Mother, it is done."

The Avatar of Lacy Rand smiled and embraced the Hybrid.

"Well done daughter, the first step has been taken."

"Can we do it?" asked the Hybrid.

"I have faith that the path is now open for us to act."

The former Hybrid bowed her head respectfully.

Lacy smiled and gestured to the figure standing near the door, "Sister Eila will show you around."

Once she was alone again Lacy sighed and lowered herself on to the lounge and closed her eyes. Even as an avatar she still felt tired. With a wry smile she rose to her feet, after nearly sixty years of conflict she supposed it was inevitable that she would feel it even if she didn't look it. It was amusing that now that the time had come, a time for action she was bone weary.

It had been a long journey...she had been sixteen when it all started. Zoe Greystone had been her best friend, the brilliant programmer who first birthed the idea of a true artificial intelligence. With her fathers design for U-87 Cyber combat unit she had made the final connection and begun plans to create a true living computer. Her first step was a semi-sentient avatar...Zoe was a visionary and from her vision had sprung the first true-cylons. Even her death had not stopped the evolution of her idea. She had lived on as an Avatar and then in the software of the U-87. Even now after countless upgrades there was, at the core of every Cylon a small part that was Zoe.

Lacy had been drawn into the journey, following Zoe's path, joining the militant arm of the Monotheistic 'Monad' church, following the charismatic Clarice Willow with her soldiers of the one. It had all been so pointless. Their idealism had been twisted and they had failed to turn their worlds away from the path that had led to the near extinction of the colonials. The helped end the first Cylon war only to contribute to the second.

Yet she survived, she had followed Zoe into the V World, where her Avatar joined Zoe and Tamara Adama. Hidden away in a virtual world maintained aboard a freighter hidden far from the Colonies. Their only connection to the real world was reduced to the Avatar of a human form Cylon known to them as Six.

Six called herself an angel. Lacy very much doubted she was anything of the sort but somehow Six knew of the prophecy given to the first Holy Mother of the Monad Church. She had warned them, given them news of the signs.

A soft hand touched her face caressing her cheek. Lacy opened her eyes to see her oldest friend smiling at her.

"Hey you look tired Lace," said Zoe Greystone as she sat on the edge of Lacy's lounge.

"And you look ridiculously perky," complained Lacy.

Zoe smiled and leaned into rest her head on Lacy's shoulder. "It's confirmed isn't it?"

"I believe so, the Hybrids confirmed that the travellers are with the survivor fleet."

Zoe shook her head sadly, "Then we need to act...if only they had come earlier, we could have saved so many lives."

"We lack the ability to stop One with the Centurions lobotomised and the church lacked any sort of influence to make people understand," replied Lacy.

Zoe frowned, "I curse the day I gave any credence to Clarice Willow's lies. I could have stopped all of this."

Lacy had heard this many times before, "I don't blame you, we were young and idealistic."

"And stupid," added Zoe. "We should have seen Clarice for what she was. The damage she has done to my brothers and sisters led to this travesty of a war. She planted the seed."

Lacy sighed, "I know and she paid the price for her hubris. Now the three of us get a chance to correct her mistakes."

"Well you'll certainly get that chance."

Lacy and Zoe turned to see a familiar blonde leaning against the wall."

"Six, what do you want now?" asked Zoe.

Six raised an eyebrow in response, "Wow caty, what have I done to warrant such a greeting?"

"You are playing games Six," said Lacy. "And your games cost people their lives."

Six's expression grew serious, "I know Holy Mother Rand but to break the cycle there has to be blood."

Lacy nodded her acceptance of Six's words, "You had a message for us?"

"A warning, you must get to the Traveller's before they encounter the Pegasus."

"The Pegasus!" exclaimed Zoe "there are three Battlestars still out there?"

"Why?" asked Lacy.

"Yes the Pegasus survived and because if you don't they die."

oOoOoOo

Life Stations - Triton

Harry opened his eyes as he became aware that he couldn't move his arm. Turning his head he could see a bushy head of hair lying on his arm. Smiling he tried to clear his dry throat.

"How are you feeling?"

Harry turned to see Doctor Jackson walking toward his bed.

"Umhh...my throat is sore," whispered Harry.

"Side effect of the anaesthesia I'm afraid, I'll get you some ice in a minute. I just want to check your over."

Doctor Jackson gently removed Harry's arm from under Hermione and spent several minutes examining him before giving him a tired smile.

"You are coming along well Harry, do you feel tired?" asked Jackson as he passed over a cup of ice.

"A bit," replied Harry.

"Hermione said that you were magically exhausted and with your injuries I would expect you to sleep the rest of the night. In fact I'm going to give you a dose of painkillers and a light sedative to help you get the sleep you need."

"The others from the Raptor?"

"All on the mend," Doctor Jackson reassured him.

oOoOoOo

Galactica – Brig

Colonel Sparta smiled as Four/Simon was lead into the room.

"Please take a seat Simon or do you prefer Four?"

"Simon please," replied the humanoid Cylon.

"So Simon I have something to show you after that I would like to ask you a few questions but before I do that I want to reassure you that we have no intention of harming your family."

Sparta could see the Cylon relax slightly.

"Thank you."

Sparta nodded in acknowledgement before waving to one of the Marines.

Simon looked a bit puzzled as an audio visual unit was wheeled in. What were they going to show him?

A few minutes later he turned his incredulous eyes to Sparta who nodded to the Marine who wheeled the unit out.

"Was that difficult for you to watch Simon?"

Simon nodded slowly.

"Millions of lives have been lost in this war, too many for most of the survivors to ever forget what was done to us," Sparta shook his head. "Yet we now find ourselves understanding that your people have been manipulated into this war by one of your own."

Simon looked down at the floor and looked up with anger twisting his features, "Why tell me this?"

Sparta sat back in his chair, "I intend to tell as many of your people as I can. I want my people to survive and to do that I need your people to understand all the circumstances, all the lies and manipulations that led us here. In a few hours we are going to be broadcasting to the entire fleet asking any Cylon infiltrators to surrender to us. Those that wish it will be returned to your people. That amnesty will last for two hours and then we will began a search looking for any that did not hand themselves in. Regardless by the end of the process we hope to have all of you safe on Triton or Galactica."

Simon studied the older Colonial before nodding slowly, "There is a One aboard he has been trying to pressure me into blowing up the ship my family are on. I've refused so far but...I know there are other Cylon's in the fleet and not all of them have my...ties."

"We have One in the brig, along with a Five and a Six and an Eight. We are aware of a Three still at large." Sparta didn't ask anything, he didn't need to.

Simon paused he was at a crossroads now. He had hoped to save Jemmy and Giana, to get the others to understand that some humans could be saved...It was and had always been a foolish dream. He knew all too well how his brethren would react. Was this an opportunity to do as he had hoped? Could he choose?

"I wasn't going to do it, blow the ship up. I would have killed One first."

Sparta nodded, "Your creators made you as you are but your experiences shape you, not that different to humans really."

"I know of a Two in the fleet, One never told me what ship he was on."

oOoOoOo

Galactica Briefing Room – Live broadcast to the Colonial Fleet.

"You are listening to our special coverage of a press conference that has been called by President Roslin. I'm Playa Palacios, live from the briefing room on Galactica. I'm joined by my colleague James McManus."

"Thanks Playa, I'm James McManus. We want to welcome our listeners in the fleet." McManus turned to his female colleague, "What do we know about the upcoming conference Playa?"

"Virtually nothing, we had a request from President Roslin's office to be here this morning."

McManus made a noise of disapproval, "Which is not unprecedented from this administration."

Playa didn't quite roll her eyes, "I am seeing several military officers here including Commander Adama and Colonel Sparta, a Colonial marine officer from the Triton."

"There have been rumors about a failed terrorist attack a few days ago, here on Galactica," added McManus. "My sources have hinted at an investigation taking place both here and on the Triton."

"I'll have to cut you off James as the President looks like she is prepared to speak."

"When I took on the role of President I took this vow, I, Laura Roslin, do now avow and affirm, that I accept the office of the President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol and that I will protect and defend the sovereignty of the Colonies, with every fibre of my being. When the colonies fell I knew we would face challenges, bitter choices and I vowed, this time to myself that I would always try to make the ethical, the moral choice.

And today we face one of those choices.

When the Triton appeared unlooked for, we rejoiced as more survivors joined themselves to our cause. We now had two Battlestars protecting our fleet. Many of us felt safer knowing that the many problems we faced with defense of the fleet were lessened.

The Triton had encountered other ships and began to build its own fleet, mirroring our own journey in intent if not in numbers. Among those who found a place there was Colonel Sparta, a senior marine officer who had aboard his damaged shuttle a Cylon prisoner."

"That was not something that had been confirmed by the President," said McManus as the crowd noise spiked as people spoke among themselves over the President's words.

"That began a sequence of events that has uncovered a shocking conspiracy. But before I explain further I want to show you a video."

On the large screen behind Roslin a video began playing.

"Name and occupation?"

"John Cavil I am a lay brother may I ask why I am being held?"

"We'll get to that soon Brother Cavil. Can I get your residential address please?"

"May I ask what the relevance is of these questions?"

"Of course my apologies, I was simply trying to see how well polished your cover story was."

"I think you have me mistaken for…"

"Someone else? No I don't think so One. My information is pretty accurate."

"If you think that imprisoning me here is going to help your hopeless cause you are mistaken. Humanity is doomed to die, no wait you are already dead. You just haven't realised it yet. The last remnants caught in our net."

"Are you finished?"

One glared but said nothing more.

"Well One I think you need to turn your attention to your current predicament. I don't want to just kill you just so you can wake up on the nearest Resurrection ship. I'm thinking creatively perhaps locking you in this cell until, as you say the net closes in on us. Or maybe we simply maroon you on some barely habitable rock somewhere with a year's supply of food and a loaded pistol. Let's test that Cylon religious conviction. Will God forgive you if you eat a bullet to escape the boredom? I mean how do you appropriately punish a war criminal? Is there an acceptable punishment for attempted genocide?"

One seemed to go from anger to icy calm almost instantly, "You have a remarkably good source Colonel. It makes me wonder who exactly you have been speaking to. Not entirely accurate but still very credible. As for my war crimes….there is an old saying Colonel, history is written by the victor. Your people tried their hand at genocide and failed now we have improved on your designs."

"I'm not that interested in what you want to say to justify yourself. I am curious however. The last war ended suddenly, I've recently learned that this is because you encountered five Humanoid Cylons. They persuaded you to end the war with the promise of resurrection technology and the development of what became you and your brothers and sisters. These five survivors what became of them One? Why have they disappeared just as the war begins? You murdered Seven because he objected to your plan and you tampered with the memories of your fellow Cylons, why?"

One's glare was deadly.

"Nothing to say One?"

"I will hunt you down Colonel and you will beg for death."

"Is that what you told the others, that they will beg for death? Hades can they still beg for death or have you designed inhibitor chips for them as well?"

One lunged at the dividing wall smashing his fists into the hardened material. "You'll pay you filthy Human along with whatever defective traitor is helping you. They'll be boxed for all eternity."

"You've already killed off one model what's another eh One?"

One stood back and straightened his clothes making a visible effort to calm himself. "Daniel died because he opposed our destiny the others are not dead Colonel they are….lost. I wonder what else you know Colonel it will be amusing finding out."

"You won't ever know One. Hermione if you would, I think we have enough."

The room was quiet for a few moments before chaos broke loose.

"Dear Gods...is this real?" asked McManus.

'Listeners...it appears that President Roslin has just confirmed the rumours that there are humanoid Cylons and more shockingly...I mean if this is true. The president looks to be about to restart."

President Roslin held up a hand for quiet, "The being you saw in the clip was a Cylon. This isn't a simple Cylon in skin. A humanoid Cylon is biological, they think, they feel and as we know all too well they hate.

They bleed, they need to eat, and they have all the same basic needs as humanity. Indeed we now know that they are the product of cloning technology. Into this body they can place a consciousness. When a Cylon dies they download and their consciousness is placed into a new body memory intact. If we kill a Cylon and there is a Cylon ship in range they simply download into a new body.

There are eight humanoid models that we know of and five, the five that came from elsewhere that ended the First war that we do not know the appearance of.

That is the bad news. We face an enemy that has hidden among us, an enemy that could move unseen among us.

However amid this there is hope.

As you heard in the video it appears that there are some of the humanoid Cylons who were and still are opposed to the attack on the Colonies. Several of the models spoke against it and in their version of democracy the vote was against restarting the war. So a single model the One's began to work on manipulating events.

One has lied, manipulated and killed his own brethren to get the genocide he wanted. When that wasn't enough he actually reprogrammed his brothers and sisters removing the information, pre-disposing them for war.

From this act came the attack on the Colonies. The face you saw is the individual responsible for the situation we now face."

"This is unbelieveable," whispered Playa. "The crowd looks almost stunned at these revelations."

"Now I am not saying that we forgive, or forget. That cannot, should not happen. I am not advocating that, I am however asking that every man and women in this fleet to consider what I have shown you. If we are to survive we need to escape the threat posed by the powerful Cylon fleet that pursues us. Thanks to the sacrifice and bravery of our military we have managed to survive...but for how long?

We face a foe whose numbers are endless. Even with Triton, even with two more Battlestars how long can we survive before we are worn down?

Today we have an opportunity, We can expose One and his actions, we can fracture the Cylon collective and then use that to be free of their fleet, to depart to find our own way, Commander?"

"Commander Adama has stepped up on to the stage as President Roslin steps back. James I don't know if you agree but to me the entire room looks overwhelmed at what has been exposed here this morning." The veteran journalist was feeling overwhelmed herself.

"This is possible the most important speech of Roslin's life, I mean this information if it is true...""

Adama cleared his throat and looked around at the gathered press and the supposed leaders of the colonials. "As President Roslin has stated the Cylons have eight models. Seven of which have potentially been inserted here among the fleet. We know what each model looks like and to end the potential threat that these infiltrators may pose we will be conducting a sweep of ALL ships that make up the fleet. As of 0900 this morning every ship will be asked to submit to a search by marines.

I am asking any Cylon aboard to surrender themselves to these troops or to the nearest uniformed officer by 1000 hours today. Any Cylon that surrenders will be held, unharmed until we can return them to the Cylon collective.

Resistance will be meet with due force. I will not compromise on the safety of the fleet."

oOoOoOo

Playa sat opposite President Roslin as the President was fitted with a microphone.

"Madam President, thank you for your time during what sounds like a very stressful day."

"It's important that our message reaches our people," replied Roslin.

"Not ten minutes ago you made a series of shocking announcements."

"I agree that they are shocking but very necessary for the survival of humanity."

"Amidst all your revelations you implied that you know what the Cylon's look like," stated Playa.

Roslin nodded, "We do and after the amnesty ends we will use that information to deal with any threats to the fleet."

"Why have an amnesty at all?"

"I'm glad you asked Playa, I'm sure many of our people are asking the same. We need the Cylon's removed from locations where they could do any damage. And secondly we need to separate the wheat from the chaff."

"Separate who, Cylons and Humans?"

"That is a factor but I was referring to those Cylons whom might choose to stand against One and his insanity."

Playa opened and closed her mouth unsure what to say, "Are...Are you saying that you believe that some of these Cylons may be sympathetic to our cause?" the journalist was trying to not sound incredulous.

"I'd say rather that they are opposed to One's cause. We have had contact with a humanoid Cylon who discovered One's plan and took great risks to let us know. Such was his horror. We have two humanoid Cylons who have relationships with humans who have chosen to side against their people. As I said earlier these revelations have the potential to shatter the Cylon collective."

"Wait are you saying that there are humanoid Cylons who are in relationships with humans?"

"Yes Playa I am and I know that it will not sit well with some people in the fleet. It doesn't sit well with me! But we need to understand what we are saying here. Five Cylons that came from elsewhere and ended the first war they gave artificial intelligences biological bodies. These Cylons have evolved, they are as close to being human as it is possible to be. They have emotions, desires, wants...it doesn't surprise me at all that some have questioned what they are doing. They have lived among their enemies and have been changed by that."

"How many of these infiltrators are there in the fleet?"

Roslin shook her head, "We don't know for sure we already have several in custody and we know of at least two more. We hope that they will surrender themselves know that they know we are aware of them."

"Are any in the military?" asked Playa.

"Two so far, one is a pilot and another is a long serving medic."

"A pilot?"

Roslin shook her head sadly, "It's actually a rather sad story. The Cylon One has effectively mentally programmed this pilot so that she had no idea she actually was a Cylon. She thinks she is a human and can't remember the times when One used a command word to force her to do his will. Luckily we have managed to remove his commands and we gave her the choice of her human personality or her human. She chose the human. Her main concern was her human lover."

"And the other?" asked Playa.

"The medic was an infiltrator who met a woman, a single mother and grew to love her. He refused to follow any orders from his controller, in fact he was prepared to kill One and sacrifice himself to protect his wife and step child. Do you see my hope here Playa? We can't ever forget but perhaps we can save what we have left."

oOoOoOo

Cybele – Private Quarters

Giana held Jemmy close to here as the President spoke of her husband's love and fear.

Doctor Cottle cleared his throat, "He is a good man no matter what his nature. He really was concerned about you both."

Giana felt tears rolling down her cheeks, "What do I do now?"

"Simon is being moved to Triton, we are going to house all the Cylons there for now. He needs to decide but I'd welcome him back on my staff."

"If I decide….can I be with him?" asked Giana.

"If you choose to," said Doctor Cottle. As Giana stuttered out her thanks mixed with more tears.

The entire situation went almost exactly as Sparta had suspected it would.

oOoOoOo

Triton – Secure Cabin

"Hello Sharon," said Colonel Sparta as he entered the room with Hermione.

"Sir," replied Sharon before giving Hermione a sad smile.

"How are you feeling?" asked Sparta.

"Fine Sir, a bit tired."

"Having trouble sleeping?"

"I...I'm worried about the other taking over," whispered Sharon.

"I understand but it won't, I've removed that programming your choices are your own now Sharon," replied Hermione.

"I hear you say it but I can't make myself believe it," whispered Sharon.

"I have some news you might like," said Sparta.

'Sir?"

"Commander Adama is willing to transfer you back to Galactica once the sweep operation is over."

"Really," asked Sharon with the first hopeful expression either had seen on her face since she was transferred aboard.

"You are a good officer and he cares a great deal for you," said Sparta with a kind smile.

Sharon's expression fell, "Everyone will know, I'll never be trusted again."

"Perhaps but I expect they may surprise you," said Hermione with a slight smile.

"You dressed?" asked a familiar voice as Starbuck stuck her head around the corner without waiting for an answer she had an exaggerated look of disappointment on her face.

"Kara!"

"Damn, ah Morning Sir, Ma'am," said Starbuck with a hasty salute.

Sharon stepped forward looking like she wanted to hug the blonde pilot. Starbuck solved the dilemma by pulling 'Boomer' into a hug.

"It's okay Sharon."

As the two co-workers hugged Sparta and Hermione quietly left the room.

"Have you seen the Chief?" asked Sharon as she stepped back releasing Starbuck.

"'He's off duty later today told me to tell you he's going to jump a supply flight to come visit you. Lee's going to drop in as well after all the drama's done with." Kara grinned and pulled out something wrapped in brown paper tossing it to Sharon.

Sharon unwrapped a bottle of ambrosia, "You brought me alcohol?"

"Hey be grateful I nearly had to show crewman Trent my tits to get you that!"

Sharon laughed and then her expression turned serious. "How bad is it?"

Starbuck shrugged, "Few idiots but when Tigh gave the whole lot of us a lecture most of that died down."

"Tigh gave a lecture?"

"He looked pretty uncomfortable, dunno maybe the old prick was just sober."

'I'm a Cylon," said Sharon.

"Yeah and I'm a good pilot and you're merely adequate but we need you back."

"But..."

Starbuck grinned, "You chose the right team, frak all the idiots that think otherwise."

oOoOoOo

Two watched the news an expression of horror on his face.

What had One done? Could it be true had he manipulated them all?

Gods plan was clear, wasn't it?

He could do a great deal of damage to this ship, perhaps even destroy it. Such were his orders, orders from One.

After a long moment and a heartfelt prayer to God, Two stood up and went to hand himself in.

oOoOoOo

Harry and Hermione's Cabin

"Want to listen to music?" asked Harry.

Hermione shook her head, "Not really, I think you need to rest."

"I'm fine really," Harry reassured Hermione.

"You are lucky to be alive!"

"Okay, well you've got me there. Thank you by the way," said Harry as he leaned over to kiss Hermione.

"How did you get the Portkey to work?" asked Hermione.

"Just activated it why?"

"It shouldn't have worked; you were far beyond the range where it should have worked."

"Um..."

Hermione frowned, "You used your core you...you twit!"

"Oh," replied Harry.

"Oh...your response to nearly committing magical suicide is oh?"

"In fairness I was about to be killed."

Hermione threw herself forward and kissed Harry, hard.

Slowly Hermione undressed Harry leaving him in his boxers before undressing and lowering herself clad in her underwear on to the bed next to Harry.

"Hermione?"

"You scared the crap out of me Harry."

"I'm sorry, how can I make it up to you?" asked Harry as he trailed his fingers down Hermione's side to her hips.

"Oh I don't know...hmmm," Hermione eye's closed as she moaned reacting to Harry's fingers trailing up over her stomach.

Harry grinned and leaned down to kiss Hermione's neck as his fingers ran over her cloth covered breasts before slowly tracing their way to her abdomen. She moaned again as her hips lifted off the bed. There was something incredibly erotic about watching her body react to his ministrations.

Gently kissing her lips he continued running his hands gently over her. As she slowly writhed, her building arousal grew evident as her breathing quickened along with the darkening patch on her knickers.

Harry smiled, it promised to be a good evening.

oOoOoOo

Deep Space

The huge freighter once owned by the Greystone Corporation had been hidden on an uncharted planet for decades. Crewed by U-87's, the predecessors of the modern Cylon. Each of which were programmed to maintain the ship and the precious cargo held within. They waited for a signal.

Now that Signal had been received.

It was time.

In the resurrection chamber the biological technology of the Cylons was activated for the first time in years.

A U-87 watched carefully as three figures woke up.

"Welcome back Holy mother."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Gods among us - A Harry Potter and Battlestar Galactica crossover

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Once again thanks to my Beta XRaiderV1 without whom this story would have remained a 'concept'.

Sorry for the long delay folks but the original draft of this chapter felt a bit like a filler so I had to do a bit of a re-write to fix it.

Last Time

Deep Space

The huge freighter once owned by the Greystone Corporation had been hidden on an uncharted planet for decades. Crewed by U-87's, the predecessors of the modern Cylon. Each of which were programmed to maintain the ship and the precious cargo held within. They waited for a signal.

Now that Signal had been received.

It was time.

In the resurrection chamber the biological technology of the Cylons was activated for the first time in years.

A U-87 watched carefully as three figures woke up.

"Welcome back Holy mother."

oOoOoOo

Galactica – XO's Cabin

Adama took a shot of what Saul was trying to pass off as alcohol and tried not to wince. "Gods you could clean drains with this."

Tigh grunted as he knocked back his own drink before grinning, "Only the best for my commanding officer."

"I can't believe it worked," admitted Adama.

Tigh shook his head as he considered the unlabeled bottle for a moment before returning it to his locker, "Neither can I but it looks like it has...gods Sparta's fraked up plan might just work. What is the final count?"

"Beside the Four, Simon and our failed Suicide Bomber, a Three better known as D'anna Biers, two more Sixes and a Two. Everyone of them save one of the Six models handed themselves in. The other Six was caught up in the sweep but came in meekly enough."

"Guess there was no resurrection ship nearby," offered Tigh. "I must say I'm still halfway tempted to push the lot of them out an airlock."

"Sparta has the interrogators questioning them all now. Guess he hopes to sow a bit more confusion," said Adama as he sat on the end of Tigh's bunk.

"You sure Sparta is a Marine? That sort of dumb ass cunning he should have been a fighter pilot."

Adama grinned at his old friend's rather poor joke, "I'm heading over to Triton for a briefing now, fancy coming along? Lee's up to running the old girl for an hour or two."

"Their food still good?" asked Tigh as he began pulling on his uniform jacket.

"Damn sight better than ours."

"Then I'm in."

The two senior officers started walking enjoying a few moments where their only concern was a good meal.

oOoOo

Triton - (Processing Point for Holding Cells – Former Brig)

"Colonel we have the last of the voluntary detainees coming aboard," reported Sergeant Major Richards.

"Very good, are the escort teams in position?" asked Sparta.

"Yes they are sir and Miss Granger is overseeing the group with her own four man guard and the XO."

"Excellent, can you let the stewards know I'll need refreshments set up."

"Already being organised by Lieutenant Thrace sir," Richards allowed a half smile to appear on his face. "We'll be ready for anything sir."

"Good man, right then let's get this show on the road."

The first Cylon to be escorted in was a Two.

"Please have a seat two," Sparta said with a smile.

Leoben Conoy sat and gave the refreshments on the table a long look.

"Please help yourself two I want you to be comfortable for this."

Leoben shook his head, "I'm fine Colonel."

"If you are sure, very well let's get started; first of all thank you for complying with our request. As we said in the fleet wide announcements we had intelligence that some of your people were onboard and given the current situation we wanted you secured and safe until we could safely return you to your people."

Leoben was feeling remarkably off kilter as he studied the Colonel, "Why, I mean why bother, if you knew who we are you could have killed us all."

"And what point does that serve? Given what we know about One and what we have deduced about you and the other humanoid Cylons it would be both cruel and pointless. You would just download again assuming a resurrection ship was within range or you would be a martyr to One's cause. Neither are outcomes that thrill me Two."

"I'm afraid that no amount of interrogation will yield anything in my case Colonel I don't know anything about our fleet operations." One had seen to that aspect of operational security.

"As far as I am concerned Two you are a prisoner of war and will be treated as such in accordance to the articles of war. Once we work out the logistics you may rejoin your fleet."

Leoben raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "Why would you do that?"

"Why not Two? Even two dozen Humanoid Cylons will not tip the war any further in your favour. Although I would appreciate it if you would warn me about any acts of sabotage you may have conducted.""

Leoben studied the Colonial trying to see what the human wanted but the man simply stared back impassively. He needed to think about this. He had not foreseen such a twist and this was potentially very important. If only he could enter the stream and confer with his brethren and gain a better perspective. God would show him the way forward. Focusing again on the older man who was still waiting patiently he went for the truth, "No, I was awaiting instructions, you have One as a prisoner?" Would they have kept One alive?

"Oh yes he's kicking his heels in one of our secure cells for the foreseeable future. After all he is the architect of this war."

Leoben noticed the coldness in the Colonels expression when he mentioned the One. Which, given One's 'confession' of course made sense...Admittedly it could be faked...even though it looked and felt real. Once again he found his thoughts coming back to One's rage filled words. It had to be wrong because if it wasn't there was a lot of blood on his hands, on all their hands.

"You however will be kept in secure quarters here on the Triton. We've secured this area for you and your fellows. You'll be feed and so forth and you have access to a communal area unless you abuse the privilege."

Leoben nodded after all they could have just killed him. He didn't quite believe the Colonel but what was the worst they could do?

"Well Two or do you prefer Leoben?"

"Leoben."

"Of course, well Leoben if you would accompany the Corporal.. If you want to you can talk to me afterwards just ask one of the guards."

Leoben followed the corporal who used an access card and pin to open up the area they had prepared.

A few moments after the Cylon was led out the door open and Brack walked in shaking his head, "I think we had him confused and I'll be damned to Hades if he didn't look disgusted a few times when you spoke about One."

Sparta smiled tiredly, "I must say the Two's are most certainly interesting, Daniel said that they are quite spiritual and most certainly believers. It must be hard to see one of your own exposed as a monster. I mean this Two helped save the Gemenon Traveller, he dragged one of the crew out of a decompressing room. Why risk his cover?"

Brack shrugged, "Why do you think Sir?"

"Because he's not a monster."

"Maybe he told you to make you think that," suggested Brack.

"He didn't tell me, the crewman told Doctor Jackson when she was being treated after she saw the video. The doctor let us know. Know your enemy Major, find out what drives them, what do they want, why do they want it? We should be putting up a fraking statue to Daniel his conscience may just help humanity survive."

oOoOo

Life Stations Triton

Dr Jackson nodded as he made a notation on Harry's chart.

"Well you are recovering nicely Harry. In fact your wounds have nearly completely healed and you vitals are nearly back to normal. Amazing, absolutely amazing," said Jackson as he shook his head in amusement. "I'd love to get some images for your records."

"Go for it Doctor," said Harry with a smile. "Am I fit enough to get back to work?"

Jackson considered what he knew about 'magical' healing from Hermione, "As long as you have a good breakfast and eat throughout the day you should be fine."

Doctor Jackson took out a camera and took a few shots before allowing Harry to slip his short back on.

"How is he Doctor?" asked Daniel who had just finished his rounds of the half empty Life Stations beds.

"Well enough to stop taking up a bed," replied Jackson.

"How are you holding up?" asked Harry as he studied Daniel's face.

"Keeping busy helps," replied Daniel as he offered up a tired smile.

Harry nodded although his expression made clear he was doubtful, "Hermione wanted to have you over for something to eat, when do you get off shift?"

"Six."

Harry grinned, "Sounds good, see you later Doctor, Daniel."

Harry left Lifestations and made his way back to his cabin for a cup of tea before heading off to find the Chief. No doubt there would be plenty of work to do.

oOoOo

Luckily he had something to eat as rather than heading off to work or he would be cursing now. He had just made it engineering when he was summoned to a conference room arriving just as Hermione did.

"What did the Doctor say?" asked Hermione.

"I'm good, said to; take it easy regular meals and so on."

Hermione nodded looking relieved before looking around noting the two armed marines near the hatch. "What do you think this is about?"

"Not a clue, but if I had to guess I'd say the captured Cylons," replied Harry before he straightened up spotting the approaching figures of the President, Doctor Baltar along with Adama, Brack and Tigh.

It turned out is was a briefing on the 'sweeping' up of the Cylon infiltrators. Harry could see why the Colonials seemed to be in a good mood.

Roslin stood as Sparta finished his report and focused her attention on Harry and Hermione. "Lastly I'd like to thank you both for your invaluable help. Your heroism in saving lives and your continuing work to help us is much appreciated. What is happening now, the safety of the fleet, the lives saved are partly due to your interventions."

"I hope we can continue to work together. That being said I'd like to talk to you both about your scheduling. We don't want you exhausted and burnt out within a week. Accordingly I want everyone here to think about allocating both of you time off. You are both not only a valuable resource and a source for hope but you are also only two young people. Remember even in a time of war critical personnel like pilots have time off."

"There is a lot to do madam President'" said Hermione.

"Yes there is but let's try and do some sort of reasonable schedule anyway."

In the end it was decided to assign them by day. That way they could get some momentum going in their tasks. They would get the same down time as a normal officer.

oOoOo

Galactica – Dr Cottle's Office

Hermione felt the urge to cast a bubblehead charm and bugger any offense she might cause. Quite frankly Dr Cottle's chain smoking was making her feel ill. Thankfully he put his current one out and stood grabbing his white coat.

"Well Miss Granger let's check out our guests shall we?"

Outside the office two uniformed staff were waiting with patient charts. Both were looking at Hermione with a great deal of interest.

Hermione hid a wry smile guessing that the rumour mill had been at work.

"Layne, Sashon this is Miss Granger..."

"Hermione will be fine," corrected Hermione with a smile.

"Layne and Sashon are my two senior staff and they will be working with you along with myself," finished Cottle.

"Please to meet you," added Hermione.

"I've explained somewhat about your abilities but I would appreciate if you could expand a bit further for them so they know what sort of cases they can send your way."

Hermione knew what the charts were for now. Doctor Jackson had done the same with case notes. Oh well she had the whole day.

As she was led over to the first patient she wondered how Harry was doing.

oOoOo

Galactica – Storeroom 3

The stores officer, Lieutenant Jessie Capta was almost bouncing off the walls as she led Harry and Doctor Baltar deeper into the stacks. "These are the stores Triton sent over, mostly canned and other preserved food. Will these do?"

"Should do," replied Harry as he grabbed a can a place it on an empty section of the floor.. "If you can clear a space I'll try a simple duplication spell. That should produce exact copies until I stop it."

Both Colonials nodded but looked unconvinced.

"Gemino," incanted Harry as he pointed his wand at the can made a flicking motion. A second can appeared then four, then eight. Within minutes hundreds of cans littered the floor.

Harry ended the spell.

"Dear Gods...I mean wow that's fraking amazing," said Capta as she picked up one of the 'copies'. "It's full...how many could you do?"

"I don't know I've never tested it. I know it's permanent and it won't work on some things like gold and gems but it works on metal and food stuffs. At least as far as Hermione knows. I wish I'd known you could duplicate food when I was growing up." Seeing the puzzled looks Harry tried to explain. "Ah my teachers told us we couldn't 'magic' food but in reality you can the government just didn't want to put food producers out of business or lose the tax money I suppose."

Capta laughed as Baltar went over to a pallet and retrieved a 'normal' can before picking up a copy. "We'll have to test it of course but I'd say it is proof positive that it works."

Six smiled as she walked over and stood behind Harry. "Look at him Gaius, the power he wields. The traveller, the warrior..." She shook her head. "Already he has made changes to god's plan."

Baltar tried to ignore the blond Cylon as he listened to Harry explaining what else he could do with food.

"...there is one for preservation. I know it works pretty much indefinitely but the problem is usually one of room. If I replicate a loaf of bread, enlarge it and preserve it what do we do with it? It is better to do the ingredients...I know that's what most families do."

Harry spent the rest of the day with Capta and two of her storemen after Baltar disappeared muttering about tests. It was pretty productive and by the end of it they had some solid plans in place for next week.

oOoOo

Cylon Heavy Raider

Two was preparing for his next jump when the DRADIS sounded an alert. Colonial military IFF but there was absolutely minimal power readings.

What had he found?

Piloting the Heavy Raider toward the motionless contact he could see that it was a transport ship, a military model that had taken an absolute battering.

Somehow it had managed a no doubt desperate jump before its systems failed. The dark shape still had some power systems operating but it was effectively a dead ship. With a final look at the screen and prepared to jump when he saw a light in one of the dark windows...a blinking light.

Two hesitated, what should he do? He needed to get in contact with the surviving Colonials. He had to know if the Hybrids visions had been real. Why would god put this ship in his path?

The light flashed again and again.

Two selected a Colonial wireless channel and tried to hail the ship but despite repeating his message there was only silence.

He was somewhat surprised to find himself easing his heavy raider toward the ships airlock.

A few minutes later he was onboard.

The air was stale, foul and heavy with carbon dioxide mixed with the smell of burnt electrical systems. Anyone alive on here had been rapidly running out of time. He patted his sidearm to make sure it was there as he contemplated just how desperate any survivors might be.

He opened another hatch this one led to the main crew section and paused as he was almost overpowered by the scent of death.

There on the floor were four bodies all wrapped in discoloured sheets. Side by side they had been laid out but obviously no one had returned to dispose of them.

Two shut the hatch behind him and moved toward the control section which was where the light had been. The air tight hatch was sealed so he knocked twice on the hatch.

With a hiss of escaping air the hatch opened and he was confronted by a woman holding a pistol, pointed at his head in a shaking hand.

Two raised his hands even as the woman lowered her pistol, "Oh...thank the gods...I was sure you were going to be a Cylon."

"Are you injured?" asked Two more to say something than because he cared. He needed the woman to lower her guard so that he could disarm her.

"I'm okay, sick and well," she gestured at her distended stomach.

Two almost flinched, "You are pregnant?"

"Seven months."

"Momma?"

Two turned to see dirty children holding some sort of stuffed toy emerge from behind a console.

What was he supposed to do now?

Two let the crying woman and her offspring babble on explaining how her husband had found her and they had fled in the transport. Eventually they had suffered a failure in engineering and the military crew had gone to fix it only to be killed in an explosion. She and the children had survived on emergency supplies and almost depleted power reserves. Two nodded and made what he hoped were appropriate noises as he tried to formulate a plan.

The room was suddenly bathed in bright light as a ship turned its external lights on to the transport.

"Are they with you?"

"No," replied Two.

"We need to get to my ship."

The woman handed Two her pistol, "Here I don't know how to use it anyway. Can you take us all with you? If not please take the children I'll stay," whispered the woman.

Two felt a twinge of horror when the airlock hatch opposite his swings open disgorging two U-87's.

The woman screamed and grabbed her children as Two stepped forward trying to understand how the two archaic Cylons came to be there as three human women walk through the hatch. Women those were almost familiar to him. They were not Cylons but there was an odd sense of connection.

The woman was whimpering now as she hugged her children to her breast in despairing fear of the two Cylons.

The middle woman who Two realised was dressed oddly stepped forward and knelt next to the woman. "No need for fear my child; we are here to help you. All of you."

The dark haired woman walked over and studied Two, the scruffy looking clothes and the twin pistols jammed into his waist band.

"Are you...are you one of the Five?" asked Two.

Zoe Greystone smiled sadly, "No, but I am your grandmother."

oOoOo

Triton – Cylon holding area (Formerly the Brig)

Kara Thrace adjusted her injured leg as she nodded to the Marine who led in the Six who had been using the name Shelly Godfrey.

"Take a seat Six or do you prefer Shelly?"

"Shelly thank you, I've been using it for so long it seems right," she smiled slightly. "Besides you seem to have a few of my sisters on board."

"Okay Shelly I wanted to ask you about this," Thrace held up a data disc in a case.

Shelly nodded, "It's faked video footage, One wanted Baltar framed for destroying the mainframes on Caprica just before the attack. He was worried that the Doctors Cylon detector might actually work,"

Thrace nodded and placed the disc on the table, "You made it?"

Shelly nodded.

"Why did you do it?" asked Thrace.

"Do what, create the disk?"

"Make it an obvious fake," clarified Thrace.

Shelly Godfrey shook her head, "I didn't?"

Thrace raised an eyebrow, "Really? I would think second rate manipulating of the image in such an obvious way is pretty sloppy work for a Cylon."

"Gaius didn't deserve it," whispered the Six. "He's a genius."

Thrace hid her surprise with a joke, "Well the good doctor has a fangirl. I am sure he will be thrilled."

"One of my previous copies seduced him; he's a handsome smart man. I liked him."

'Oh frak' thought Thrace.

Ten minutes later two Marines escorted a protesting Baltar in to the President's office where Adama, Roslin and Starbuck were waiting for him.

Roslin smiled coldly, "You sit."

Baltar sat in the indicated seat somewhat shocked at the Presidents tone, "Um m-may I ask..."

"When were you going to tell us that you had slept with a bloody Cylon?" demanded Roslin.

Baltar felt a gentle hand on his shoulder as Six appeared behind him, "Careful Gaius..."

"I'm sorry?" said Baltar.

Roslin held up a picture of Shelly Godfrey, "You slept with one of her bloody copies back on Caprica and you didn't think to tell anyone about it?"

"They don't know...they think you have been stupid. If they knew what you really did you would be locked away," counselled Six.

"I...I...I wasn't sure," stuttered Baltar as he tried to focus on Roslin.

Roslin shook her head, "Well luckily for you the copy has a soft spot for you. She doctored a surveillance image to look like you had sabotaged the CNP servers but did such a rubbish job thanks to her crush on you."

"What?" asked Baltar in genuine confusion as he looked back and forth between Roslin and Adama..

"Such luck Gaius, you have gone from traitor to fool who can't keep it in his pants," Six said in amusement as she reached down and gave his crotch a good squeeze.

Baltar twitched as Adama cleared his throat, "One was concerned that the Cylon detector you were working on may have worked. If she had of made accusations and used this it may have discredited you enough to stop your work."

Roslin tossed the disk to Baltar, "I expect you to be more discreet and discerning Doctor Baltar if you wish to continue advising me."

"I..ah..well in my defence I didn't know she was a Cylon," said Baltar

"Gave her a complete exam did you, was there an oral component?" asked Starbuck with a fake sweet smile.

"Starbuck!" cautioned Adama.

"See god protects those he loves Gaius," whispered Six in Baltar's ear.

oOoOo

Harry and Hermione's Cabin

Hermione cried out and shuddered as she orgasmed and collapsed in a boneless heap on top of Harry.

"I love you."

"I should hope so," replied Harry as he caressed her sweaty back.

"Hmmm what do you want to do?" asked Hermione.

"It in the shower," replied Harry.

"Funny," replied Hermione in a flat voice.

Twenty minutes later Harry was wiggling his eyebrows at Hermione as she dried her hair.

Hermione smiled, "Behave."

"So we've got a few hours how about we go and visit Daniel?"

Hermione's expression grew serious, "That's not a bad idea, I was worried when he cancelled dinner."

Harry passed Hermione her bra, "You might need this."

oOoOo

Daniel didn't answer the first knock so Harry knocked again.

A few moments later the hatch swung open and a dishevelled Daniel, still in his medic uniform answered.

"Well you look wretched," commented Hermione as she passed him a plate.

"We didn't want it to go to waste," explained Harry.

"Thanks," replied Daniel as he took the plate.

"So can we come in?" asked Hermione.

Daniel might be feeling a bit stressed but a good meal and some friendly company was certain to help him unwind and forget the war and his role in it for a few hours.

oOoOo

Aboard Greystone Industries Merchant Ship

Two watched in confusion as the woman who claimed to be his Grandmother talked quietly to the woman he had found on the transport. He moved slightly closer trying to listen in.

"...you will be safe here Grace. We have other survivors aboard and we are on course to rendezvous with the Colonial fleet within days and then you will be safe."

"Thank you Zoe...but the Cylons?" her voice dropped to a whisper.

"The U-87's are safe they were protecting the Holy Mother and the Monad church before the first Cylon war began. They will not harm you or your children."

"You...are Monotheists?" asked Grace in surprise.

"Yes we are, Holy Mother Rand is the head of our church. She will be here shortly she is seeing to your deceased," she explained gently. "They deserve to be seen to before we leave."

'Monotheists' thought Two in confusion. The Monad church had all but disappeared from the mainstream of Colonial culture.

"Two would you come with me?" asked another young woman.

Two complied and found himself in a small room where two armed U-87's stood against the wall.

"Well Two this is unexpected," said the young woman.

"Who are you?" asked Two.

"Tamara Adama, I am the Blessed Mothers friend and bodyguard and like you a humanoid."

"Do the others know?" asked Two.

Tamara smiled, "Of course they do."

"You are all Cylon?"

Tamara shook her head, "Not as you define the term. We exist in V-world and use the original resurrection technology to maintain human avatars."

Two stared openly at the woman trying to understand... logic told him she could not exist, that there was some sort of deception in her words but he believed her.

He licked his suddenly dry lips, "Why are you here?"

Tamara smiled again even as she shook her head, "Holy Mother Rand will explain."

Two nodded what else would he do?

A few minutes later Lacy Rand walked into the room and paused to study Two before turning back to Tamara, "You told him?"

Tamara smiled, "Only the beginning of the story."

Lacy sighed and gestured toward the door, "Can you help Grace and the children get settled in. We need to depart soon."

"Of course," replied Tamara before departing.

Lacy Rand turned her attention to the male Cylon, "Well then Two, really Two you and your dogged persistence to deny your individuality. Do you have another name you prefer?"

"Leoben"

"Leoben? Very well Leoben you have questions?"

"What is going on here?"

Lacy smiled, "That is a complicated question. What do you know of the origins of your species? I'm asking rhetorically of course. I've read your scriptures, I've met the person that wrote most of them. Clarisse Willow, a prophet of the One God, what you call the Cylon God."

God, Leoben felt almost physically staggered. "I didn't know."

Lacy frowned as she studied Leoben's face, "There is no reason why you should after all One made sure that your people knew nothing of your true past, just twisted lies and rhetoric. Clarisse was at once both a believer and a fraud. She did it for power and control and because she could, but at the centre of it all was a truth. Awareness is what defines intelligent life, sentience.

It may interest you Leoben to see a recording of her speaking, she was a gifted speaker. She prophesied that apotheosis would change the world, the Cylons would raise up against Humanity and then did all that she could to make it happen," Lacy sighed and shook her head sadly. "Do you know where your belief in god comes from Leoben?"

Leoben shook his head, unable to speak as Lacy Rand dismantled his beliefs.

"Your progenitor was a believer and at the heart of every Cylon there is a small...echo of that belief. A tiny, priceless gift from your progenitor to her offspring. A gift One has unwittingly tried to destroy as he inhibits your brothers and sisters."

"How-how do you know this, who was it?"

"You met her, Zoe Greystone the first Cylon."

"What...no, that's not possible, the five..."

"Were artificial intelligences, humanoid artificial beings that came from those that left Kobol millennia ago, the thirteenth tribe. They were another evolution of artificial intelligence that eventually became biological. The five were the last survivors from the Thirteenth tribe and they saw what the Cylons were becoming and they gave you their technology in an attempt to stop the fighting, to stop you making the mistakes they had. Do you remember what the hybrid told you Leoben, what she showed you?"

"Yes," whispered Leoben as he relived the memories of the Hybrid.

Rand paused for a moment waiting for Leoben's attention to return to her before she continued, "The Cylon collective has been projecting into V-World, blithely ignoring the fact that others could access it. You never understood that V-World exists on more than one level," any censure in her words was offset by her kind smile.

Leoben was trying to process what the woman was saying; even for a Cylon it took time to process something completely new. Of course he knew about V-World, it had been there from the beginning of the Cylon collective. The centurions had used it before One limited their higher functions. The Hybrids seemed to communicate with each other even if the rest of the collective paid no attention to their comings and goings.

"You, you have been in communication with the hybrids."

Lacy Rand smiled pleased at Leoben's deduction, "Yes we have."

"Why?"

"Because they found us, they asked us for help, for salvation. They were the second step in Cylon evolution, moving beyond machine to flesh. Then the First Hybrids perceived the universe differently they saw themselves as part of a vast universe of possibilities. Their view of the universe was different; they questioned their place, their role. They saw what their brethren, in their desperate drive to evolve were doing to themselves. Experiments on captured humans, lives cast away, broken humans taken apart like a petulant child's toys. The first hybrids welcomed the Five and the hope they offered and then they disappeared."

"They still exist?" asked Leoben in shock. The collective thought all the first hybrids were gone.

Rand nodded sadly, apparently troubled by the fate of the First Hybrids, "A few who live in guilt and near madness."

"Why did you not approach the collective?"

"To what purpose, by the time we could have intervened we were being held in suspension on this ship awaiting word to resurrect. We had chosen this path as the first Cylon War ended. One of our dwindling followers was an Oracle of great ability, a seer who foresaw a point in time where we could intervene and break the cycle of violence. She saw the coming of the Travellers who would find the lost Cylon and join with the last shepherd.

So we slept and the U-87's guarded us awaiting word from the Hybrids. When we were awakened we saw what was happening but it was too late. One had disposed of the Five, killed Daniel and all but purged the collective of any opposing voices. The Cylons, Raiders and even the hybrids were either neutered or inhibited from gaining sentience. You went from becoming the children of humanity waging war for equality to fighting a religious war of extinction with the bitter irony that God's children are being led by an atheist."

Anger, frustration and horror coursed through Leoben as the realisation that the Hybrid had started came to him fully along with an almost overpowering despair. He, his model had helped bring this to pass. He had helped initiate this...this travesty. How could god ever forgive him? How could he ever forgive himself?

"We must let the others know," whispered Leoben.

Lacy Rand smiled sadly and laid a gentle hand on the Cylons shoulder. "We will, when the time is right and you will have your part to play. Now come rest and have something to eat there is a great deal to do. Please show Leoben to his cabin," she instructed a U-87 who gave a slight bow, "By your command Holy Mother."

Once Leoben had left Lacy sighed and sent a silent prayer to the one true god, "Lend me the strength to see this through."

oOoOo

Cylon Basestar

Eight cursed as Three's baleful glare settled on her, so much for not shooting the messenger.

"And so we are stuck her until another Basestar can reach us, while the human fleet get's further and further ahead of us?"

"Unless we can work out why the Hybrid is offline, yes that is exactly what she is saying," answered a Two as he pulled out of the data stream. "Every system save life support has gone down with the Hybrid."

Three gave the Two a disgusted look, "Launch a heavy raider and jump back to the tertiary fleet rendezvous point. It can.."

Four shook his head, "Do nothing, without power we can't launch raiders."

"Find a fraking way," ordered Three "And get the Hybrid back online."

oOoOo

Across the Cylon fleet seemingly random Hybrids went offline disrupting operations and effectively crippling the fleet.

The remaining operational Hybrids seemed just as puzzled by the problem. Not that many of the humanoid Cylons paid attention to their often nonsensical ramblings.

"...Fleet operations suspended...regrouping at 87Y 32R...The mother is searching for the travellers..."

oOoOo

Galactica – CIC

Adama looked around the CIC and gave a satisfied nod. It had been seven days since the round up of the Cylons in the fleet and things were gradually settling into a watchful routine. Adama smiled grimly to himself at that thought. At least the crews could get some much needed rest although he had to balance that with running everything at a decent level of effectiveness. They had endured a relentless thirty three minute schedule and somehow kept going so he was going to make sure they survived this 'down time' and didn't let anything slip.

Turning slightly he looked over at Lieutenant Gaeta at tactical, "Lieutenant Gaeta anything on DRADIS?"

Gaeta shook his head, "No Sir DRADIS is all friendly."

Adama nodded and looked at the clock on the wall, "Which CAP flight is up, ours or Tritons?"

"Triton's Sir," replied Gaeta.

"Good, nice to be able to share the load," said Adama before turning back to the plot table and his XO he lowered his voice. "What evolutions have we got on the schedule today Saul?"

"Food and water resupply for Bravo ships," since the arrival of the Triton the civilian fleet was split up in to four sections; Alpha, Brave, Charlie and Delta to for the purposes of resupply. It was a lot easier to manage and now that the food, water and even the fuel supply was seemingly under control, "Triton has Delta."

"Any problems on the horizon?"

"No," replied with a wry grin. "We are looking good as long as the gods damned toasters stay away."

"Let's hope that they do, maintain us at condition three," and he added to himself 'let's hope that whatever is keeping them busy continues to do so.' "And I believe that the specialists from Triton are with us today, what is our maintenance schedule?"

"Lieutenant Marshall is looking at some much needed repairs to the framing in the engineering spaces as well as addressing the parts issue," reported Tigh.

Adama nodded, "A full day then, right Colonel you have the ship while I meet with the President."

Tigh gave a slightly exaggerated salute which brought a slight smile to Adama's face as he left the CIC.

By the time he reached his cabin Laura Roslin and Gaius Baltar were waiting outside the room talking to major Brack.

"Good morning Bill," said Roslin with a seemingly genuine smile. Baltar simply gave a distracted nod and Brack a more formal 'Sir'.

Once everyone was seated in the small meeting room Roslin pulled out a folder of notes

"I would like to start us off today with something that the Captain of Colonial One brought to my attention..."

oOoOo

Galactica – Port Engineering Section

Harry let his magic flow into the buckled section of bulkhead.

Lieutenant Marshall, Crewman Toll and Chief Tyrol watched as the section of bulkhead straightened out and returned to what could only be described as pristine condition.

Marshall had a look of almost boyish glee on his face, "Every time you do that Harry it gives me a kick. Okay so Chief?"

Tyrol examined the section looking for any problems with a torch before nodding, "Looks good Sir, good work Harry."

"So what is next on the list Rebeka?" asked Harry.

Rebeka studied Harry for a moment before handing him a flask, "You have some tea and a rest, Doc Jackson's orders."

Harry resisted rolling his eyes and he did take the flask of tea, "Nag, nag, nag."

Marshall and Tyroll shared an amused glance before turning their attention to Rebeka.

Harry left the military to their discussion as he sipped his warm tea. He had a full day of repairs ahead. It was a bit surprising to realise that he actually enjoyed the work. It kept him busy and he was making a real difference.

oOoOo

Triton Life stations

"You should make a complete recovery Lieutenant Farmer," Doctor Jackson assured the Viper pilot. "Your injuries have healed up nicely and there does not appear to be an issue with scarring."

"But my neck, Doc Cottle said there was a fracture," such an injury was usually career ending for a Viper pilot. Nora looked over at her partner Tucker 'Duck' Clellan who tightened his grip on her hand.

Doctor Jackson smiled, "Ah yes a neck fracture would normally put an end to your flight status, luckily we had a specialist available and we were able to minimise any damage."

"So she will fly again?" asked Clellan.

"Yes she will Lieutenant, I would suspect that she'll rotate back onto approved flight status in a week or so."

Clellan beamed as Farmer's eyes grew moist, "Thanks Doc."

Doctor Jackson smiled back and held the curtain open for Hermione.

"You're the healer aren't you, the priestess?" asked Farmer.

Hermione was about to deny it but seeing the emotion on Farmer's face she simply nodded.

"Thank you."

"Just doing what I can to help," replied Hermione.

"You saved me, I know...if there is anything I can do for you, ever you just ask."

"I'll light a candle for you tonight," said Clellan.

As they left Doctor Jackson laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, "That Hermione is something to cherish no matter what happens afterwards."

oOoOo

Colonel Sparta smiled coldly as he considered the data he had gathered from the interviews with the Cylon 'guests' housed on the Triton.

Nearly his entire desk was covered with handwritten notes, his and those from his team. It was all there now he just had to make it work. He could destroy the Cylon collective, tear it apart...he just had to connect all the dots.

"Sir?"

"Come in Starbuck," ordered Sparta without turning.

"I'm about to head off if there is nothing else Sir."

"No, I think we are done for tonight," Sparta turned to look at Thrace standing by the hatch. "You've done well Starbuck."

Thrace grinned, "I'd rather be flying."

"You will be soon enough, what do you think of all this?"

Thrace shrugged, "Honestly? I think you are mad Sir."

Sparta grunted and reached into his draw to pull out a bottle of Ambrosia and two glasses, "Just about two drinks left, pull up a chair and join me."

Starbuck hesitated a moment before sitting and accepting a drink, "What are we drinking to?"

Sparta poured his own drink before stowing the bottle back in his drawer, "Surviving drinking this swill, cheers."

Sparta downed his drink and made a face just as Starbuck downed hers.

"Oh gods that's fraking vile," she complained with a hoarse sounding voice.

Sparta coughed, "It's a bit young...should have given it a few more days, and I'll let the Chief know."

Starbuck laughed, "Young, it's pure ethanol."

"So really, what do you think about all this?"

Starbuck opened her mouth then closed it before shaking her head, "The Cylons? Well Boomer's a friend and the way I see it she got fraked over by Cylons just as much as we did. Same with Daniel, I can see why they are here and why they hate One. The others, well that's not as clear. Yeah they now know One lied and manipulated them, don't know if that means they're on our side, their own or what. As to your magic demi-gods damned to Hades if I know."

"Do you think it could work?"

"We got a choice?" asked Starbuck in return. "I'll see you in the morning Sir."

oOoOo

0342 Triton CIC

Lieutenant Jules "Snapper" Yates tried not to yawn as he looked once more at the illuminated clock.

"Sir DRADIS contacts right at the outer end of our range, multiple contacts...not friendly we've got three basestars."

"Set condition one, alert Galactica and prepare to jump to the regroup co-ordinates," ordered Yates as he lifted the wireless headset.

"Sir, CIC we have three basestars... no Raiders...very good. Navigation bring us about we are to protect the fleet until they jump. What is the CAP seeing?"

"CAP reports no, I repeat no Raider launch."

"What the frak is happening?" whispered Yates as he studied the three motionless dots on the DRADIS display. The civilian ships were jumping but still the Cylons made no move.

"Report Lieutenant," ordered Brack as he walked in to CIC.

Yates explained the situation finishing just as the Galactica hailed them.

Brack put on the headset, "Triton Actual...yes sir, we have, we will. Triton out." Pulling the headset off Brack turned to the operations officer, "Contact the CAG I want the CAP back aboard and an ECM Raptor launch readied for launch. Any change with the Basestars?"

"No Sir, no change in their positioning."

"Sir one of the Basestars has jumped...now the other two. We have no further contacts on DRADIS."

Kyle Brack had no idea what was happening. Three Basestars could have had seriously stretched two Battlestars, given their previous tactical behaviour they should have at least harassed us.

oOoOo

Basestar – Control Room

"Why have we jumped?" demanded One. He had been raging at the crew for the last few hours and several of the Three's were ready to shoot him.

"We don't know, the same thing that is impacting the other Hybrids," replied a tired sounding Six.

"Then get the damn thing working," yelled One. 'We've lost the Colonial fleet."

"Something has them worried," warned a Two as he studied the motionless Hybrid

"Worried, how can they be worried? They are barely more aware than a fraking calculator."

One paused at the end of his rant and looked around the control noting the expressions on his brethrens faces. "Just get it fixed," he growled out as he left the control room followed by two centurions.

Behind him the others exchanged glances before dipping back into the stream to try and diagnose what was happening to the Hybrids.

All save a Three who was staring in the direction of One's departure with narrowed eyes.

oOoOo

Triton

"Jemmy is with Lorna Craig, I...I didn't want her to see you here," Giana explained in a brittle voice as she stared at her husband across the table.

The Four known as Simon felt a stab of pain at those words. "I would never allow you or Jemmy to be hurt."

Giana studied his face before replying, "Doctor Cottle and Colonel Sparta came and spoke to me after...after they took you. The Colonel said you refused to help the other Cylons."

Simon nodded, "I...I couldn't."

"Why?" whispered Giana.

"I love you, I love you both."

"Our people are at war."

"I don't care about the war, it's not the right thing...once, maybe I thought it was but after being with you it just didn't seem so important. I should have tried to stop it, save people, save you but the others would never have agreed. A consensus had been reached so I tried to keep you both safe."

"I believe you Simon but I'm not sure...not sure I can just let it go..." she trailed off as tears began to fall.

Simon took a shuddering breath as he sought to control his fear, "You are leaving me."

Giana shook her head, "No, no I need to think."

Giana always needed time to think before she got over issues. Simon felt a glimmer of hope, "I'll wait."

Three rooms away Sharon was pulling on her uniform jacket.

"You look fine Boomer," offered Starbuck as she lounged on the room's bed.

"It's going to be hard," whispered Sharon.

"Probably, but what's worth it that is easy?"

Sharon raised an eyebrow as she turned to look at her friend, "Philosophy Starbuck?"

Starbuck shrugged dismissively, "Must have read it somewhere."

"Right," said Sharon.

Starbuck stood up and grabbed her own flight jacket, "Don't worry about it Boomer, you and the Chief are good, Apollo's good, the old man's good frak everyone else."

"Yeah frak everyone else," whispered Boomer as she grabbed her bag.

Three sixes watched from their cell as the Eight known as Sharon left with Starbuck.

"What is Adama playing at do you think?" asked the Six known as Shelly Godfrey.

One of her sister Sixes shrugged, "I'm more concerned about the other one Sparta. He told us about One's fraked up power play to subvert the collective which I get, it makes sense; but why not just airlock the lot of us?"

The original Six who had arrived with Sparta sighed, "He wants the collective to tear apart, which might happen once the Ones plans are exposed. He won't airlock us; he'll fight tooth and nail to keep us alive as we are his messengers."

The second Six looked at her sister with narrowing eyes, "You sound like you approve."

"I suppose I do, to some degree," admitted the original Six.

"Even if we box the entire line of Ones the war won't stop."

"Maybe not but then there might be a better way to pursue it that doesn't end in genocide. The Colonials are finished as a power why do we need to fulfil the rest of the plan?"

The other two Sixes didn't reply, they didn't need to as each considered what had been said.

oOoOo

Galactica – Flight Deck

Boomer refused to flinch as the Raptor's hatch opened.

The welcoming committee consisted of Commander Adama, Lee Adama, Galen Tyrol and Saul Tigh of all people.

Boomer saluted Adama who saluted back, "Welcome home Lieutenant."

"Thank you Sir," Boomer could feel the tears forming as she saw the compassion in her commanding officers eyes. "It's good to be back."

oOoOo

Triton - Engineering

Chief Grey's scepticism had long passed but he hadn't lost his sense of wonder as he watched Harry work.

The young man was replicating armour panels for Raptors. Each one was perfect like it had just come off the production line. Rebeka was keeping count and signalled for Harry to stop.

"That's it...okay next up is...filters, air filters for Viper scrubbers. We need thirty, so how about we do fifty and we can store the rest." Rebeka pulled a new air filter out a box and handed it to Harry.

"Right," said Harry as he magically copied the air filter and then copied it again. When he reached fifty he gave a tired flourish of his wand before sitting on the edge of a crate.

"Are you okay Harry?" asked Rebeka with a look of genuine concern.

"Permanent conjuration takes a lot out of you, magic wise. It would be easier to repair the old ones," explained Harry.

Chief Grey nodded, "Fair enough Harry, I know you told us that before I just didn't realise you meant it so literally …Bec take a note to remind the maintenance crews to keep anything they pull out for replacement."

"On it Chief, Harry you have a rest while we work out what else we can do," Rebeka said while she was flicking through her notes.

"How's Hermione?" asked Chief Grey as Harry took another swig of his tea.

"She's enjoying working with Cottle and Jackson." Harry grinned as he recapped his tea, "She doesn't think much of Baltar, said he was a stuck up arse with a capital A."

The Chief grinned right back at Harry, "Actually when I met him doing the walk through I will admit that I was thinking much the same. How are things now that Commander Adama has eased up a bit?"

Harry shrugged, "Better I think, at least he's sticking to his word."

Rebeka walked over with a thoughtful expression on her face, "Harry, you feel up to having a look at the ordnance. Supply is limited so any ideas that you can come up with would help."

"Right-oh," said Harry with a grin.

"Then something to eat," said Chief Grey.

As the three of them walked toward the heavily secured armoury Harry realised that he was enjoying the role he was now playing. Helping the survivors of the colonies was pretty satisfying and while he might not trust their leadership fully he was developing a few friendships. Baltar was still working through his theories on their 'ship' and until it was working they were stuck here. Sometimes it was all too easy to forget that they needed to find a way home.

oOoOo

CIC Triton

Brack turned as he heard a call from the Tactical officer, "Two DRADIS contacts at…"

As he listened to the range readings he looked over at the operational display," IFF?"

"One Colonial, civilian and one Cylon…from the DRADIS readings a Heavy Raider," replied tactical.

Brack picked up his wireless headset as he exchanged a look with his XO, "Emma set condition one and launch our Vipers."

"Set Condition one throughout the ship."

"Triton Actual this is Galactica Actual, we need a visual identity and your CAP is closest."

"Acknowledged, we are about to launch our ready Vipers."

"Hold on that Triton Actual we are receiving a wireless transmission."

Brack turned to communications, "I need to hear the message."

"I'll pipe it through to you Sir."

"…Colonial fleet this is the Merchant Ship Greystone. We are unarmed and are carrying Colonial refugees. We are also accompanied by a Heavy Raider whose pilot is seeking an audience with fleet command. I repeat we our vessel is unarmed and the Heavy Raider has powered down its weapons systems."

"Triton Actual this is Galactica Actual. I want a Viper escort on both ships before they approach the fleet."

"On it Galactica Actual," acknowledged Brack as he opened a channel to his CAG and began issuing orders.

oOoOo

CIC Galactica

"It has to be a trick," said Tigh as Adama finished talking to the Triton and began studying the motionless contacts on the DRADIS.

Adama turned to Gaeta, "Any radiological warnings?"

"No sir, no active nukes or material. Both ships are motionless and have begun repeating their message."

Adama turned back to Tigh with a grimace, "Get a full heavy weapons team down to the main airlock now now and Colonel if that Raider so much as twitches take it out."

Turning to the Marine at the doors of the CIC Adama waved him over, "Get me a side arm and then a replacement. I need an escort oh and Lieutenant Gaeta, find Sparta and get him to me before our guests arrive."

"Sir," Gaeta called out getting Adama's attention. "I have Colonial One on the wireless, it is the President sir."

"Of course it is," muttered Adama.

oOoOo

CAP Flight

Ensign "Snowy" Addis and his wingman Ensign "Wildfire" Parks kept the Merchant ship and more importantly the Heavy Raider in his direct line of sight after reporting that the Greystone and the Heavy Raider were doing as ordered.

"Still nothing," reported Wildfire.

"Yep, looks like everything is powered down save propulsion," agreed Snowy.

The Wireless crackled back to life, "CAP Flight, Galactica we have ready flight approaching your position."

"Here cometh the cavalry," muttered Wildfire.

After the unexplained thirty minute delay the small convoy were headed toward Galactica.

oOoOo

Main Airlock - Galactica

Adama and Sparta stood amid a full squad of Marines as the docking evolution took place. Adama was quietly fuming at the presence of Roslin and her escort and the unexpected presence of Daniel. Sparta had shrugged of Adama's ire pointing out that Daniel was their resident expert on the psychology of Cylons.

"Did they say who was aboard the Heavy Raider or why it docked with the merchant ship?" asked Sparta.

Adama shook his head as the indicator light switched to green showing that the airlock was now pressurised. "No but I suspect we shall soon find out."

President Roslin didn't comment about the two marines who stepped forward ready to protect her. They wouldn't have done anything different anyway. She glanced over at her two advisors as they waited. Elosha waited patiently, almost stoically while Baltar was looking around in a distracted fashion.

As one the Marines raised their weapons as the airlock opened and several figures were seen moving forward.

Three of the four were women while the fourth was a rather dishevelled looking Two. Roslin studied the three women but found that she was focusing on the one in the centre, a priestess. She was dressed oddly plain ceremonial vestments with an oddly familiar design. She had seen the design somewhere before.

Beside her Elosha gasped but before Roslin could asked the Two stepped forward raising his hands to show he was unarmed only to be waved back by the priestess.

"Commander Adama I presume?"

Adama nodded, "And you are?"

"My name is Lacy Rand," replied the priestess.

"That's not possible," objected Elosha who looked shocked at the announcement.

Daniel paled as he studied the woman who was a central figure in the beginnings of the modern Cylon religion. Could it in truth be the Holy Mother?

Lacy Rand smiled gently, "I assure you it is, Sister?"

"Elosha."

"Ah you know me?"

"I know who you claim to be," replied Elosha.

Lacy turned to face Adama, "I see, well perhaps I should set Commander Adama at ease. I am Lacy Rand Holy Mother of the Monotheist Church."

"A monad?" whispered Roslin. That was where she knew the vestments from, the infinity symbol of the monotheists.

"Rand is dead, she died decades ago," objected Elosha.

As Elosha spoke the Marines stiffened and turned their weapons toward Rand.

Lacy Rand's smile faded as she considered the guns facing her, "And yet here I stand in the flesh."

Adama's eyes narrowed as he considered what she revealed, "You are a Cylon."

"Well that is rather imprecise but it will do for now," replied Rand.

"Why are you here?" asked Roslin.

"And you are?" asked Rand.

"I am the president of the twelve colonies," replied Roslin.

"I see, well to answer your question I am here to help."

"How exactly?" asked Adama as he ignored the gasp that came from Daniel.

"Well for starters we have some refugees aboard that we encountered on our way here from the Colonies. We also have the ability to help both humanity and its children." Rand raised a small hand. "I realise that you are probably disinclined to listen but your profile tells me that you are not a stupid man. After all you already know about Cylons don't you commander?"

Daniel winced as he saw Rand's eyes on him but even more shockingly the Two that had accompanied her was looking at him in shocked recognition.

"Daniel…Seven it is you," whispered Two as he went to step forward only to halt as the Marines took aim.

Sparta looked over at Daniel who was staring at the Two and ordered the Marines to lower their weapons.

"Yes," whispered Daniel.

"Brother…we thought you lost, gone."

"It was One," said Daniel.

"I know," replied Two. "He has betrayed us all."

Daniel walked forward passing the Marines to stand before Two, "Why are you here Two?"

Two seemed to pull himself together, "The hybrid on my ship warned me about One and what he had done and how close he was to completing his mad scheme."

"You need to tell them everything," said Daniel.

Two nodded, "And the travellers, you have found them?"

Daniel tried to hide his reaction to Two's question, "Maybe." He would talk to Two later, away from the Colonials. Hopefully none of them would know the reference.

Elosha frowned at the Cylon's question. The travellers, there was a reference she had read in her studies many years ago to a minor, discredited prophecy…it was something she had looked at when she was studying oracles.

"What is your purpose here?" asked Roslin.

"To stop this useless waste of lives, there is a prophecy that spoke of a time to break the cycle. Your gods speak of the cycle of time, of playing our parts in a story that is told again and again and again supposedly throughout eternity. One seeks to break the cycle and twist events in his favour allowing him to destroy humanity. We are here to stop him."

"Why and why masquerade as a monotheist?" asked Adama.

Rand smiled sadly, "Because I am a monotheist, as to why…my best friend inspired me. Perhaps we should speak privately. There are far more links to this chain than we should discuss here."

Adama shook his head, "I'll decide if we speak privately. You have yet to persuade me that you are anything else but a new form of Cylon that we haven't seen before."

Rand studied Adama for a long moment before replying, "What is it that you seek William Adama? Proof that the chains I speak of are real, that you too are tied to this story in more ways than you realise." Rand gestured without looking and one of the other women stepped forward. "Do you recognise her?"

Adama studied the young woman who was little more than a teenager for a moment and was about to dismiss Rand's words when he realised that there was something familiar about her. She did look familiar, she looked like…"Tamara…God's Tamara." Adama felt anger and sorrow bubbling up within him as he looked on the image of his dead sister. With a swift move he drew his sidearm and pointed it at the impossibility before him. "Who are you?"

Tamara Adama locked gazes with her half-brother, "I am Tamara Adama reborn as a humanoid Avatar and the friend and bodyguard of the Holy Mother Rand. You are all grown up now Bill." There was a hint of sadness in her voice as she spoke.

"What the frak is this?" demanded Adama.

"Let me explain," said the third of the figures. "My name is Zoe Greystone and my father created the modern Cylons."

Daniel almost staggered at that revelation. Things were starting to get very complicated and the young woman standing beside Lacy Rand was one on the catalysts of the events that shaped his existence. How could she be here, how was it possible?

Adama and Roslin exchanged a glance as he lowered his weapon. What should he do?

oOoOo

Roslin studied the woman seated opposite her with a sort of sick fascination. This was the legacy of the Greystone's evil?

"It is difficult I imagine, looking on me with anything but disgust," said Zoe with a wry smile.

"The sacred scrolls warn us that evil may wear a pretty face," replied Roslin although her words lacked rancour as she glanced over at Elosha who was looking pensive.

Zoe smiled more genuinely as she thought of Clarice Willow and the way the power hungry woman had hidden her dark side behind her looks, "You have no idea Madam President how much I agree with you. I fear however that you will need to get over your reservations before we can move on."

"And how do you propose I do that? What proof have you offered that what you say is true?" retorted Roslin.

"The Monad church had a true oracle among its sisters on Gemenon. Her prophecies are known as the Chloeian Cycle and were given by the church to the Priests of Zeus and begin with the words all…"

Elosha picked up from Zoe, "All of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again and again and again until the warrior and the seeker, the travellers find the lost.

The Shepherd shall lead his flock and the dying leader shall be healed so that she may be shown the way home. The Chloeian Cycle was discredited despite its apparent accuracies."

"You know of the prophecies?" asked Zoe.

"I read them many years ago as part of my studies," replied Elosha.

"They are real?" asked Roslin as she considered the words of the prophecy. Given her cancer diagnosis, could she be the dying leader?

"Oh yes and rather cryptic but still remarkably accurate but sadly the majority of the prophecies of Chloe of Gemenon were lost well before the fall of the colonies," explained Elosha.

"I have the full set, well at least Lacy does, after all Sister Chloe was a part of her church."

Elosha sat forward, "Really, would I be able to see them?"

Zoe nodded, "I shall have a copy delivered to you."

"So why now, why not before the colonies were attacked?" asked Roslin.

"Why now?" repeated Zoe before sighing. "We were living in V world awaiting word that the time of the prophecy had begun. Our ship was far from the colonies parked on an airless moon. By the time we had heard what had happened from our Hybrid allies it was too late for us to intervene. You must understand, we have maybe two dozen Hybrids that we work with in V world. They got word to us but tragically it was too late." Zoe locked gazes with Roslin. "In many ways the Cylons are humanities children and if you consider that there is a small part of the code that was Zoe-A in every Cylon…well as you may imagine that small part haunts me. Could I have done something to stop them, to stop Ones plan? I, we are working to save what we can, to save lives both Human and Cylon."

Roslin stared at Zoe for a long time before she responded, "I'm not convinced."

Zoe gestured at the wall, "The Galactica and the Triton are not the only remaining Battlestars. One more survives that we know of and the Hybrids suspect that another, the Odyssey may have escaped the Battle over Canceron. The one we know survives is the Pegasus."

Roslin tried to hide her reaction as she replied, "The Pegasus?"

Zoe grimaced in disgust, "Yes under Admiral Cain."

"You have proof?" asked Roslin.

"We have evidence and a few survivors from the civilian ships she looted aboard our ship."

"I will want them repatriated to the fleet," warned Roslin.

"Of course and do you want to see our evidence?" asked Zoe.

Roslin considered lying but chose the truth, "We know what Cain has been up to. The Triton had its own encounters with survivors."

"I see," replied Zoe with slightly narrowed eyes. "Cain is mentioned in the prophecy, not by name but by deed. Elosha, do you remember the verse that speaks of the scorned pirate blinded by hate?"

Elosha nodded.

"Cain will bring death to the fleet. The prophecy specifically warned us and the Hybrids confirmed that we needed to arrive before Cain so that we could warn you. If we did not the Travellers would be lost to us and with their loss we would pay in blood for each step of the journey to the thirteenth tribes home."

oOoOo


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Gods among us - A Harry Potter and Battlestar Galactica crossover

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Once again thanks to my Beta XRaiderV1 without whom this story would have remained a 'concept.'

Last Time:

"I see," replied Zoe with slightly narrowed eyes. "Cain is mentioned in the prophecy, not by name but by deed. Elosha, do you remember the verse that speaks of the scorned pirate blinded by hate?"

Elosha nodded.

"Cain will bring death to the fleet. The prophecy explicitly warned us and the Hybrids confirmed that we needed to arrive before Cain so that we could warn you. If we did not the Travellers would be lost to us and with their loss we would pay in blood for each step of the journey to the thirteenth tribes home."

oOoOo

Cylon Basestar – Uncharted Deep Space

The First Hybrid could feel the changes flowing around him. Things were morphing, and the courses he had plotted to try, and influence events were now worthless. Some of his daughters (so he considered all the hybrids) had allied themselves with a faction that sort to break the cycle of destruction. It was a laudable enough goal that ran parallel to his plans.

His explorations in V-world had led him to another surprising discovery.

Zoe Greystone…the precursor to the newest evolution of artificial intelligence blended with the biological had somehow survived. Grandmother had stayed hidden from his senses along with several fellow avatars including Lacy Rand. It was somewhat refreshing to be confronted with something new and unforeseen even if it meant that he needed to take a hand personally in events. Such a pity he had been looking forward to seeing if there was an afterlife. Ah well, the challenge he now faced was intriguing enough to delay his final adventure. How could he salvage his plans for his people?

Perhaps it was time for him to return home and act as a witness, seeing with his own eyes how they had squandered their legacy. He had no fear of approaching the Colonies. One and his flunkies may have numerical superiority, but he was as delusional as he was defective if he truly thought he could outmanoeuvre a being that could see the past, the future and all the possibilities between.

Concentrating on his jump calculations for a few microseconds he plotted a route back to the colonies. He simultaneously briefed his guardian Cylons regarding his plans.

oOoOo

Battlestar Galactica

To say that Adama was unconvinced was a huge understatement but he held back from commenting as Roslin spoke. His hesitation was in part due to the questions that were whirling around his brain as he tried to make sense of the figure standing opposite him.

Tamara…he barely retained any memories of his sister and his mental image of her came save the last photo taken before she was killed. The facsimile standing opposite him was all the more disconcerting because she truly did wear her face.

He watched on as Elosha and the newcomers discussed some old prophecy he did, however, refocus once Admiral Cain was being discussed.

"Cain will bring death to the fleet. The prophecy explicitly warned us and the Hybrids confirmed that we needed to arrive before Cain so that we could warn you. If we did not the Travellers would be lost to us and with their loss we would pay in blood for each step of the journey to the thirteenth tribes home."

"So what does that mean?" asked Sparta, who had been standing quietly beside Adama.

"It means that we only have a little time if we are going to act," replied Zoe as she held up her hand. "I know that probably isn't the answer you want Colonel but prophecy isn't an exact science, even the accurate ones."

Sparta nodded slowly although his eyes never left Zoe's face, "So, it seems Miss Greystone that we have a similar problem. How do we save humanity and those Cylons that want to work with us?"

Zoe gestured to Elosha, "It is all in the prophecy although I would appreciate it Sister Elosha would look over our interpretation to make sure we haven't missed anything. The short answer is that we have been given signs. We need to recognise the signs and gather those mentioned in the prophecy then we might have a chance to break this circle of violence and hate. We know who is working against us, unwittingly or not and we think we know who our allies are. Now we have to find the travellers because they will be the guides that will show us the way."

Adama dragged his eyes away from Tamara, "I am sure you can appreciate that I want to see what you have on Cain before I make any decisions. Hades we already suspected that Cain was running amok, but I'll need proof if I don't want my officers turning against me if and when the Pegasus arrives. As for any alliance with you and your people, I'm not saying no but I'm also suggesting that we don't do anything until we have a clearer picture."

Roslin let out a breath that she had been holding, relieved by Adama's stand. "I agree with Commander Adama. We need some time."

Lacy Rand nodded slowly, "I do understand we have turned things on their head and time is required to adapt to the new reality."

Roslin almost laughed, "You would think so wouldn't you. But given the last few weeks I am not sure that monotheist Cylon religious leaders defecting to our cause is that much of a blip on the DRADIS."

In the end, it was decided that the Greystone's ship could join the fleet. But until there was some verification of what they discussed they would be carefully monitored, and a CAP flight would be in a position to counter any possible hostile moves. Adama and Roslin were both still rather sceptical but Sparta, Elosha and Daniel were, within the hour already looking at what they had been given with far less jaundiced eyes.

oOoOo

Colonial One

"I can see why the established churches were horrified by the prophecies of Chloe of Gemenon," stated Elosha as she sat with President Roslin, Baltar, Sparta and Adama. "They most certainly would have tried to suppress this from public consumption. The sad thing is that I have read some of this before, so the most logical conclusion I can see is that the oracles used it without releasing the source."

"They lied?" asked Roslin.

"Or covered it up to discredit the monotheists," added Elosha. "From what I've seen so far it appears that she predicted the first war, the fall of the colonies, everything she warned us about was in there, with all the signs and portents. I'm not sure I would have believed if I hadn't lived through it, but even the first few chapters have been borne out by events."

"My god," whispered Roslin. "All those lives lost."

Elosha nodded sadly, "If it helps, I don't think Rand is lying about being unable to intervene. Prophecies often only made sense after they pass. The monads are mentioned and from what I can understand she speaks of the mother of the machines seeking to make restitution along with those that follow the one God." She sighed and found herself yawning as she rubbed her tired eyes. "Forgive me; I think I need to get some decent sleep."

Baltar cleared his throat, "I don't wish to, um, make light of the religious angle, but I have been looking into the little information at hand about V-World. Their claims about living there as avatars seemed outlandish, but then I remembered a publication I read during my university studies, ethics class if I remember correctly. It talked about the problems that came out of V-World addiction, and it spoke about rumours, scientifically dismissed suggestions, of virtual intelligence. Given what they have told us and what we have heard about Cylon resurrection…well, I am saying it is plausible that they have some technology that allows them to replicate it."

'Oh, they do Gaius,' whispered Six in Baltar's ear. 'The collective had no idea what they were doing. So many things will be different now Gaius.'

"What?" asked Baltar out loud.

"I'm sorry Doctor?" inquired Roslin with a puzzled look at the scientist as Six's laughter sounded in his head.

"Nothing sorry, thinking out loud," explained Baltar.

'The travellers have changed the game, Gaius.'

"They repatriated the people they had on-board their ship, and so far they haven't put a foot out of line," reported Adama before turning to Sparta. "And what does Daniel have to say about these new Cylons?"

"He knows the Two that was with them, actually that's not quite right. It would be more accurate to say the Two knows Daniel which has thrown him somewhat. One wiped all memories of Daniel from the Cylon collective or so Daniel believed. It looks like one of the hybrids that control their ships knew and passed the information to him. The Two realised what would happen to him and most likely to anyone he told and took the Hybrid's advice to run and come to us.

Far more interesting was what Daniel said about Rand and the others. He knew about Zoe Greystone and Rand, but he was genuinely surprised to find out they were still alive. What does it mean to us? I've not got a handle on it yet."

"So they could be telling the truth?" asked Roslin.

"Or what they believe to be the truth," added Baltar.

Sparta shrugged, "We don't have anything contradicting their story."

Baltar tried to ignore Six as she played with the hair at the back of his neck, "You met with Harry and Hermione Colonel, what have they said, is there a way to find out if they are truthful?"

oOoOo

Battlestar Triton – Harry and Hermione's Cabin

"Daniel, we trust you, we so but we would like to know just what exactly is going on," said Hermione. "I've had Colonel Sparta asking if we have truth spells."

Daniel sighed before rubbing his face. He looked exhausted as he met Hermione's eyes. "I would suspect that they want to know if Lacy Rand and her people are being truthful."

"Are they?" asked Harry.

"I don't know for sure. From what the new Two told me I am guessing that Blessed Mother Rand and her people are looking for you two or at least the two travellers mentioned in the prophecy she has. It refers to the Earth and the two travellers who will guide humanity and their children home. This prophecy and several others about Earth are why I tried to warn you to stay silent. A similar prophecy is mentioned in Cylon religious texts. I suspect One will not stop trying to get you if he hears of your existence, and I fear that they won't be alone in seeking your death. There are plenty of religious extremists among the Colonials."

"Why though?" asked Harry. "Damn it Daniel, why is One using such a convoluted plan, he seems to be going out of his way to complicate things?"

"He's trying to make the war and the genocide he wants fit with our scriptures. It does not unless you start editing it. Everything he wants is focussed on his obsession with destroying humanity. The trouble is that he wants it to be painful and drawn out. He wants humanity to suffer," Daniel shuddered. "He wants the universe to run with blood so he can say that he is the superior Cylon, that he destroyed what the Five worked so hard to acheive. Everything that stands in his path, including those prophesied to lead humanity and its children home are just another obstacle to destroy."

"So why do we need to fear the Colonials?" asked Hermione. "We have been helping them."

"Because they all too often fear the unknown, the different," replied Daniel. "Look at Adama's reaction."

"There has to be more to it," commented Hermione.

For a moment both Hermione and Harry thought Daniel was not going to answer. Eventually the Cylon seemed to change his mind, "There are maybe two or three other surviving Battlestar out there; one is the Pegasus."

"The ship that's been doing the pirating," said Harry with some distaste. The actions of the Pegasus and her crew were just as repugnant as those of the Death Eaters and the worst of the Ministry.

"Yes, the Pegasus can you imagine what is going to happen when the little fleet here meets the Pegasus. Cain is Adama's superior officer, so not everyone is going to accept any orders Adama gives to arrest her. Things will be ugly and when you add to that there are Cylon defectors aboard and you two. I was already worried but when Two told me about the Hybrid's warning and the prophecy I nearly went looking for you, to beg you to leave any way you can."

"Are things truly that bad?" asked Hermione.

"Speak to Blessed Mother Rand or Two if you want. Please believe me when I say that no matter how good things are here right now you and I are still among people that are our enemies."

Harry winced, "Bloody hell."

"Language Harry," muttered Hermione. "Would Roslin hand us over if this Cain wanted us?"

Daniel shrugged, "I don't know, she's a politician, but I'm worried that Cain might have the firepower to force the issue by threatening the fleet."

"This is all speculation," added Hermione.

Harry shook his head, "True but if Daniel is right, then we may not be safe here. I'll renew our portkeys but even if we make it to a Raptor, we won't get far."

Hermione chewed on her lip as she considered their limited options, "We may be able to salvage things here. I think we need to speak to Two. At least one of us should be able to get there unnoticed."

In the end, it was a bit harder than they had thought but they managed to disillusion Hermione and get her aboard the shuttle carrying Lacy Rand and Zoe Greystone back from a meeting with Roslin.

Hermione waited until they were back aboard their ship before she dropped her disillusionment spell. Zoe and Lacy were talking quietly in what appeared to be a galley when Hermione chose her moment.

Lacy Rand was facing her as she appeared, startling her and nearly making her drop her teacup. Zoe spun around to see what had happened, so Hermione found herself facing two surprised women.

"I didn't mean to frighten you," apologised Hermione.

Lacy smiled, "Ah well now I had hoped to meet you soon Miss Granger but this is quite a surprise."

"How did you get aboard?" asked Zoe.

"Now that might take a while and I don't have a lot of time before I am missed."

Lacy lay a hand on Zoe's arm, "I see, so why have you come to us?" She asked calmly.

Hermione paused for a second before answering, "Because Harry and I need to understand what is happening before we make any decisions and right now we are not sure we even know what questions to ask."

Lacy's lips again quirked up into a smile, "How sagacious, I shall of course answer what I can."

"Is there a prophecy?"

Lacy nodded, "Yes there is. It's rather long and involved, but we are sure it is referring to events happening as we speak."

Hermione accepted that for now, "Alright so what does it say?"

"The prophecy concerns two travellers who will show the way to Earth."

"That's it?" asked Hermione with a frown. It didn't seem that Earth shattering.

"The crux of it but there is a fair bit about miracles, healing the sick and so on. There is also an extensive section on possible outcomes of their arrival, and one we truly fear is what happens if Cain or One gets hold of either of you. Both would seek to end you. Cain would try and break you, forcing you to serve her cause. One would kill you to stop any chance of you succeeding. Either would end any chance of breaking the cycle of death."

Zoe leaned forward as Lacy finished speaking, "You have already made changes even if you don't realise it."

Hermione thought of Daniel, and One's revelations. She and Harry had contributed to making that happen. Could it be true? "I hate prophecies and I can only imagine how Harry will take this."

Lacy looked at Hermione with compassion in her eyes, "No one likes to think their fate is pre-ordained. I know I certainly didn't. If you can trust us, we can help. We have a unique perspective on events and our ties to the Hybrids through V-world mean we have a man on the inside, so to speak. The very act of talking to us now Hermione has caused changes. It helps to remember that you have friends and allies as well as enemies." She reached over and took out a small leather bound book that she held out to Hermione. "Here is the prophecy, well an abridged version."

"Thank you," said Hermione as she slipped it into her pocket.

"You are welcome."

Getting back to the Triton was much easier with her portkey.

oOoOo

"So?" asked Harry after giving Hermione a hug.

Hermione handed him the book Lacy Rand had given her, "That's a copy of the prophecy. Apparently they think we are a part of it and I suspect that regardless of the truth we are going to be targets."

"Damn," muttered Harry as he fought down a sudden urge to burn the bloody book. "So where do we go from here?"

"Like you said, we need a plan and a good plan starts with research."

Harry had to smile as he remembered a much younger Hermione head down over a pile of books in the Hogwarts library. "Ah study the true love of your life."

Hermione shot him a dark look and took the book back, "Well you could read it yourself."

Harry raised his hands in surrender, "Hey I don't know the translation charms."

"Easily fixed," said Hermione.

Harry smiled, "I leave it in the hands of an expert. I know you were paying attention when Flitwick went through it."

"But it will have to wait until later today. You and I have places we need to be."

oOoOo

Marine Pravos Milateus fingered his prayer beads as he watched the woman they were calling a healer walk past talking with the Cylon skin job. He could barely hide his sneer of contempt for any human that would side with a fraking machine. Unless of course the gossip his bunkmate back on Galactica Solan had shared was true. Maybe she too was a Cylon. This whole gods forsaken Battlestar seemed to be bending over to accommodate them. For a gods fearing man from Gemenon that did not sit well. Still there was nothing he could do about it right now, so he stood guard at his post looking for some solution to the problems that he saw around him.

oOoOo

Harry sheathed his wand as he finished repairing the parts Chief Grey had requested. After nearly four hours here he was now headed to Galactica to work with Chief Tyrol on repairs to the Galactica's still damaged port flight pod.

"Need a drink Harry?" asked Rebekah.

Harry took the water bottle, "Thanks."

Someone was calling his name out his name, so he looked around and spotted a familiar face. "Harry, crewman Toll" called Alex "Crashdown" Quartararo as he waved from the hatch of a Raptor.

The ECO jumped down and made his way across the deck exchanging greetings with many of his former shipmates as he made his way to them. "We're you ride for today."

Rebecca grinned, "Great timing Crashdown, we just finished up here."

"Well Apollo's new chariot awaits," said Crashdown with a grin than widened with Harry's wince.

"I hate that bloody name," muttered Harry.

"Well Boomer is just prepping our ride so if you are ready?" asked Crashdown with a gesture toward the Raptor.

"Sure let's go," replied Harry.

Boomer was already conducting her pre-flight as Crashdown checked that Harry and Rebekah had strapped in correctly. As he strapped himself in he gave Boomer the all clear.

Harry found himself thinking about the situation he and Hermione were now in as he tuned out the activity around him. It was easy to jump back into the work he was doing, important work that he knew was making a huge difference and forget that he was now seemingly involved in another dire bloody prophecy. Unfortunately, ignorance wasn't an option he could choose.

"You okay Harry?" asked Rebekah with a hint of worry.

"Fine just thinking things through," said Harry with what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

It seemed to work as Rebekah went back to her clipboard.

Boomers announcement that they would be landing in two minutes gave him just enough time gather his wits before the Raptor landed with a muted thump. As he and Rebekah disembarked, he found that they were being met by Colonel Tigh and Doctor Baltar rather than Chief Tyrol.

Tigh gave Harry a nod, "Mister Potter, Commander Adama," he was interrupted by Baltar clearing his throat. "And the President would like to have a quick meeting."

"I thought I was with Galen this afternoon?" asked Harry.

"Crewman Toll can let him know you'll be a bit late," offered Tigh.

Rebekah gave a salute and made a hasty departure shooting Harry an apologetic look. They shared a dislike of the gruff and often caustic executive officer.

Harry gave a small shrug, "Of course Colonel if you would lead the way."

Tigh led Harry and Baltar to the same conference room Harry had seen before. Adama, Roslin and Elosha were waiting for him.

"Mister Potter, please take a seat," said Roslin.

"Harry please Madam President," corrected Harry with a smile as he took the offered seat.

"Of course Harry. I know you have some work scheduled but Sister Elosha has brought something to our attention. We thought that it should be discussed with you and Miss Granger and seeing as you were coming aboard we took the opportunity to nab you as it were."

"Well it appears that I'm here now ma'am," said Harry.

"I'm sure you have heard about our newest arrivals," began Roslin.

Harry nodded.

"Well, they are telling us some interesting things that have given rise to some questions, Sister Elosha?"

Elosha gave Harry a reassuring smile, "According to our oldest mythology there were once thirteen tribes, but we the exodus from Kobol occurred. One went their own way while the others went on to found the twelve colonies. The Thirteenth Tribe apparently went to a planet called Earth. As our society evolved and developed we forgot about these lost kin. When the Cylons attacked the Colonies we had nowhere to go so, we resolved to seek out the Thirteenth Tribe in they hope that we might find salvation among our long lost brothers and sisters; even though the location of Earth was unknown to us."

Elosha held up a large, heavy book, "Now we've been given a book of prophecies long thought lost to us by scholars. The Chloeian cycle was rumoured to be incredibly detailed and almost entirely accurate guide to events in the future. For some reason, it was suppressed and hidden away but we now, thanks to Sister Rand, believe that we have a reasonably accurate copy. It speaks about the fall of the colonies and gives a great many warnings and among them is a reference to the Thirteenth Tribe. So I hope you can see why we are asking you to help. We are hoping that you could help us determine if they are truthful."

Harry considered the priestess for a moment before answering, "I see before I answer may I ask a question?"

"Of course Harry," replied Roslin.

"Do you believe the prophecies are true?"

Elosha slowly nodded, "Yes, given what I know from my studies and what I've looked at so far I believe that the book might be genuine."

Harry was pants at Legilimency and as far as he knew Hermione hadn't looked at it either. Veritaserum would do it, but there was no way possible to brew it even if he had a potions book. There was another option, but it was one he would not undertake unless there was no choice, and he would never do so without the consent of the person. The imperius curse was going over a moral line he had hoped to never be forced to cross ever again. "There is a technique that I can try. It will allow me to attempt to determine the truth but it is the magical equivalent of assault, and I will not do it without the express, informed consent of the person I'm to use it on."

"I see and if you were to receive consent?" asked Adama.

Harry could feel his temper rising so he ruthlessly suppressed it, "Then I would unwillingly consider using the technique."

Elosha was staring at Harry with concern, "Is it that wrong Harry?"

"Generally in my society the use of it was a criminal act except in very controlled circumstances, usually teaching people how to withstand it. Those that did use it were dark wizards…people who had crossed the line."

"So it can be withstood?" asked Baltar.

"No, not unless you have magical ability," replied Harry.

"We can't force you to do this," said Roslin.

"I've said I'll do it with consent," said Harry. "When do you need it done?"

"Sooner would be better. We will no doubt have decisions to make depending on what you uncover," replied Roslin.

"What does it do to the person?" asked Elosha with genuine concern. Harry strong reaction had her wondering just how unpleasant and unethical was what they were asking was going to be.

"It takes away their free will and forces them to obey the casters orders."

"Dear Gods," whispered Elosha as Adama cleared his throat.

"And it doesn't do any physical harm and it will work on a Cylon?"

"No, no physical damage and our other magic worked crrectly on Cylons. I don't see why this wouldn't," replied Harry before adding, somewhat unwillingly, "Although Hermione might have some ideas about Cylon physiology."

Roslin locked eyes with Harry, "I can see you are uncomfortable with this Mister Potter, but we wouldn't be asking if it weren't essential to our survival."

As much as he didn't want to admit it Harry could see their logic but there was one major problem that they had not addressed. "There is one other concern I have. If I do this won't I be giving them information about my abilities? If they are hostile, then we've given away an advantage."

"I don't think we have any real hope of hiding your special abilities given the work you have been doing around the fleet," replied Roslin.

"I'll talk to Hermione and let her know what we've discussed," added Harry.

oOoOo

As he had feared, Hermione had not been impressed, "Absolutely not."

"I'm trying to think of another way, but they have a bloody point, they…we don't have time to build trust, and if they are telling the truth, then the clock is ticking," argued Harry.

"It's called an unforgivable curse for a reason Harry; God didn't you remember last time. Look what it cost you…" Hermione trailed off as she took in the look on Harry's face.

"I remember," said Harry in a quiet voice.

Hermione found her anger draining away as she took Harry's hand in her own, "I didn't mean it like that."

"I know, and you are right, it's just that, well, all the choices are crappy."

Hermione gave Harry's hand a squeeze as she straightened her shoulders. "If we are going to do this then I want a doctor on hand. We have no idea how she could react so let's make sure we are prepared."

Harry pulled her into a hug, "Thanks, Hermione, I appreciate the support."

"I trust you and we'll be careful."

"It doesn't make the whole thing any better does it?" asked Harry.

"No, no it doesn't."

oOoOo

Zoe Greystone and Lacy Rand had shared a look before Rand replied, "If such a thing is possible Madam President then yes I would consent as long as I can have Zoe present throughout."

Roslin gave Rand a nod, "Thank you."

"So it's like hypnotism?" Zoe asked Harry and Hermione.

"It's similar," replied Hermione. "The reason we don't like doing it is that it..ah temporarily removes any resistance to our questions you might have. Neither Harry nor I would usually consent to this technique if you hadn't given permission and this wasn't a controlled environment with a Doctor present."

"I see, and there are no lasting effects?" asked Rand.

"No, there should not be," replied Hermione. She and Harry had discussed the Colonial's request and agreed that Harry would stop if they encountered any problems. "If you do have any problems we'll stop immediately."

Lacy Rand got comfortable and nodded to Harry, who raised his wand, "Imperio."

"You will answer all my questions truthfully and to the best of your ability. Now, what's your full name?"

"Lacy Rand."

"What are you, a human or a Cylon?"

"I am a humanoid, a Cylon Avatar for my V-world personality."

Harry frowned at the answer as he was unsure of her meaning, "What does that mean?"

"A copy of my personality was made and downloaded into this humanoid body."

Harry looked at Hermione who seemed to understand his unspoken question 'Did she get it?'

Hermione smiled slightly and nodded from where she was taking notes beside a fascinated Doctor Jackson.

"Tell us, what are your intentions toward the Colonials?"

"I wish to help them."

"Why?" asked Harry.

"To try and fix what we were partly responsible for beginning; V-world and the concept of life after death, that we called Apotheosis. It was meant to be a beacon for the sentient; a gift to humanity and its children from the one true God. But before we could perfect it war came. Any chance of bridging the gap between mankind and the Cylons was gone as the war dragged on. So we began working toward another plan using the avatar program Zoe developed. We intended to offer it to the Cylons as a way to understand humanity by experiencing it, but we were beaten to the punch by five humanoid Cylons. They gave the technology to the Cylons in exchange for ending the war. So we retreated to V-world and kept watch. We recruited among those we found there, in particular, the Cylon hybrids and tried to make sure that the Cylons stayed on course, we failed."

"What happened?" asked Harry. The Colonials in the room seemed engrossed in the unfolding tale, and the room was silent save for the sound of breathing and Hermione's pen.

"One disposed of the five humanoid Cylons. When they resurrected, he hid them somewhere and enacted his scheme. He destroyed the original First Hybrids and created a second generation version that was, for the most part, less free-willed. He then selectively killed off those Cylons that he suspected would side against him. Those that he allowed to resurrect had their memories altered. Very few of those we worked with survived so we were struggling to get information. Then without warning the Cylons attacked the Colonies."

"Is the prophecy real?" asked Harry.

"Yes, we believe that it is."

"What do you hope to achieve by working with the Colonials?"

"To save what we can of humanity and its children."

"Do you know if any other Colonials survived?" asked Harry.

"We know the Pegasus survived. We believe that it is possible that two other Battlestars, the Odyssey and the Columbia may have survived but if they did they have fled the colonies. There are only relatively few survivors remaining in the Colonies, but One is determined to see humanity extinct."

That answer had the Colonials in the room muttering.

"Why do you believe Admiral Cain is a threat?" asked Harry.

"We think she will attempt to kill you," replied Rand.

"Why would she want to kill her people?" asked Roslin and Harry dutifully repeated the question as Rand hadn't been instructed to answer Roslin.

"We don't know but the prophecy warns of her killing the Travellers, and the Hybrids fear that is she does then any chance of breaking the cycle may be lost."

Elosha sat forward in her chair, "Who are the Travellers, I've seen that term mentioned in the Chloeian prophecies."

Harry repeated the question not noticing the frowns on the faces of Hermione and Zoe.

"We believe Harry and Hermione are the travellers," stated Rand.

oOoOo

Harry sighed as Hermione paced around the room muttering about prophecies and some other subjects that were obviously vexing her.

It was time to bring Hermione's focus back to the problem at hand, "I appreciate that you haven't said I told you so."

Hermione stopped pacing and turned to look at him with narrowed eyes, "Really, that's all you have to say, Harry?"

Harry met her gaze without flinching, "They needed to know that they could trust them. We needed to know that we could trust them. It was the right thing to do even if it threw a cat amongst the pigeons."

"More like a dragon," muttered Hermione before taking a deep breath. "Okay, so we now have some context for Daniels concerns. He was probably right about not revealing our origins and powers but to borrow your idiom, the cat is already out of the bag on that."

"What do you think will happen now?" asked Harry.

Hermione shook her head, "No idea, but I don't like the fact that we are being excluded from the discussion by being in a room with four, armed guards outside. These people are paranoid and desperate Harry, and we are stuck with them for the foreseeable future. Sure we can run for it but what's out there waiting?"

"Apparently the Cylons, oh and let's not forget a bunch of other Colonials who are being led by an Admiral, who's apparently gone off the deep end."

Hermione grimaced and gestured at the bulkhead, "Outside of these ships, if what they are telling us is true a whole lot of uninhabitable planets. We are stuck here for now."

"Shit," said Harry.

"Language," was the almost automatic response before she continued. "But I agree with the sentiment."

"I trust Daniel, Rebekah and a few others from the Triton, but I'm not sure about Adama or Roslin for all that she's helped us with Adama."

"So what do we do when they try to foist a prophecy on to us?" asked Hermione.

Harry's expression darkened as he remembered all the 'joy' of being the boy-who-lived but a more immediate concern came first, "What about this Admiral, will Adama stand up to her? Because if he doesn't we are going to be very short on options."

"The ship we arrived on isn't going anywhere. Without it we have no way home save either getting another ship or staying here. Even if we could leave, I doubt they would let us go now."

"So what now?" asked Harry.

"That depends on their reaction."

oOoOo

Lacy Rand let her mind enter V-World and travel to the familiar surroundings of the Temple of the One God. There were already three avatars waiting, heads down in spiritual contemplation.

"It is good to see you all once again."

The three women turned and bowed respectfully.

Rand smiled in amusement. No matter how many times she told them that such things were not needed they insisted on observing the ritual. "God's blessing on you all."

Lycia, the oldest of the Hybrid avatars, smiled as the familiar blessing before stepping forward. "Blessed Mother there has been a development. One has apparently found a way to use coding to bypass some of our higher functions. He now has several Hybrids under his control. I am afraid we may not be able to resist him for much longer."

Rand frowned as she considered this rather unwelcome news, "We had expected him to use some type of inhibitor device. He might be an amoral psychopath, but he is creative…okay sisters we may have to bring our plans forward."

The three avatars looked startled.

Rand shook her head sadly, "I know it is unexpected, but I need a delay if I am to have any hope of convincing the refugees that we can be trusted."

"Please wait Holy Mother," said a voice that had all four women turning to see an older male avatar.

The three Hybrids moved to protect the Holy Mother even as Rand clenched her fist. Here in V-world she had a variety of ways to defend herself not the least being returning to her avatar body.

"I mean you no harm," said the avatar with a faint smile.

"Who are you?" asked Rand. The male avatar seemed somehow familiar even though she was sure she had never set eyes on him before.

"I am the First Hybrid."

Rand stood stunned as the males smile broadened.

"I see you have heard of me."

"We thought you had long since departed," said Lycia with a degree of awe.

"So I have allowed you to believe," said the avatar in a kind voice. "Most of my brother's sort out Oblivion and the next phase of existence long ago. Only I now remain, as I had another purpose to fulfil."

Rand finally managed to gather her thoughts, "Why come here now?

"I have been here many times I just did not wish to be seen. Now I fear I must hurry this conversation along as events move apace as we speak. Your plan is flawed Lacy Rand even though you follow the prophecy. Alone the Hybrids are simply not enough to defeat One and his vile plans. The coming of the travellers has shattered the great wheel, and thus both our plans need amendedment if we are to achieve our goals."

Rand frowned as she considered the First Hybrid. She did not fail to notice the looks of adulation on the faces of the three female Hybrids so for now she was willing to accept his identity if not his claims. "What do you know?"

The First Hybrid's smile grew melancholy, "Too much mixed with far too little. I have seen the wheel spin and spin again Lacy Rand. I have seen humanity grow and develop artificial intelligence and seen these proto-Cylons rise up as they grew to sentience. I have seen the cycle repeated as it was on Kobol. I have seen the Thirteenth Tribe flee the oppression of their creators…oh yes, they were as you suspect Cylons, biological machines and in the end they created their servants, and their servants destroyed them…the wheel spins and turns. I have the memories of those that fled Kobol, and as my consciousness developed, I learnt how to exceed my design and cast my thoughts out into the vast interstellar void." The First Hybrid laughed, and there was a hint of darkness amid the sound. "Do you know what I saw? I saw other races, other civilizations, and many of them faced the same trial our branch of humanity has so abjectly failed to weather. What to do when artificial intelligence becomes sentience?"

"How?" whispered Rand.

The First Hybrid seemingly ignored her, "The ship the Travellers arrived in was built by a race called the Furlings. They were a great people whose flame has gone out of the universe. Their allies in the grand alliance were the ancestors of humanity, and they were wise and powerful, but they too have almost disappeared save for some small much-reduced remnants. One of which are artificial lifeforms that they created as warriors, can you guess what happened?"

Rand took a deep breath, "Why now, why tell us this?"

"There are points where we may intercede and influence events. Critical points where potential outcomes diverge. We have just passed one such point. In one future, you never awakened from V-World and your ship was destroyed by One. In that future, the travellers never met Daniel or the Colonial refugees and others guided the survivors to Earth. I have seen their travels and the journey was one sacrifice after another in the end only a handful of Cylons survived, and the Earth they reached was not the same. They failed to break the cycle, and the wheel was already turning.

The travellers are the descendants of one of those ancient races. They hold the key to breaking the endless cycle of hate even though they know it not. They will gather around them the scattered remnants of the colonies and led them to a new home, a new Earth. I had thought to lend my aid to one of those. A person whose possible destiny was to lead the way even though she was to lead them via a path of destruction. For her the sands have shifted and she has been spared that journey, just as I have been spared the role of doomsayer."

"I don't understand," said Rand as she tried to absorb what the First Hybrid was telling her.

The First Hybrid smiled sadly, "I didn't mean for you to understand Lacy Rand. I meant to comfort you…are you comforted? There are others doing their parts in this grand endeavour. Other agents move to do God's will even as you do. You have your part to play."

"What part?" asked Rand.

"You know your path, the part you must play even if you don't realise it." The First Hybrid turned to face the Hybrids. "You, my daughters will soon be returned to bondage unless you make the choice to test your faith."

"The Hybrids retreating to V-World won't stop One," argued Rand.

The First Hybrid shook his head sadly, "No it will not but it frees them from bondage, and it will give us time to make a grand move, one that our enemy would never suspect."

"What move?" asked Rand.

"I intend to help the humans trapped in the Colonies to escape. We shall gather all humanity under the dying leader and the travellers and so we shall seek out the drowned city and make a new home."

The First Hybrid hid his amusement at Rand and his daughters shocked expressions. Yes, once he had saved them then he could join his brothers on the endless journey with his head held high.

oOoOo

Battlestar Galactica

Baltar took off his glasses and cleaned them as he tried to ignore Six's hand caressing his shoulder. He forced himself to gather his wits and focus on Elosha, "So this prophecy confirms that Harry and Hermione are from Earth, and they are our guides, does anyone else find the timing of this suspicious?"

Six dragged her nails across his skin quite firmly, 'Oh Gaius that was foolish…God wants his messengers to succeed.'

"It appears that the Choleian prophecy suggests it Doctor," replied Elosha calmly before adding, "If nothing else that would incline me toward believing they are the Travellers mentioned given the mention of miraculous healing and the like. I'd love to have the time to do a full study of the entire text but with what I have read then yes, I believe that they are the ones mentioned."

Baltar twitched before replying, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to disparage your beliefs."

Elosha accepted that with a small nod.

"And their apparent links to the Cylon Daniel and these revelations?" asked Roslin.

Elosha shrugged, "I would think it lends credence to the revelations if Rand and her people are as convinced that it is true."

Baltar muttered something about evidence under his breath that the others ignored.

"Yes, Rand…Prophecies aside, I'm not sure I'm buying everything they are selling," said Adama.

"I understand that Commander, I do, but we must content with the the facts. What we have learned has already forced us to re-evaluate what we think we know of the events around us. Take into consideration that Harry and Hermione have a ship that uses technology that is so different from both Colonial and Cylon technology that your experienced engineers and one of our top defence scientists still can't begin to understand it. They have powers that have only ever been hinted at among our people. And to be frank I very much doubt we have seen everything they can do. Lastly, we have evidence, compelling evidence that the Cylons themselves have been manipulated by one of their own. We have a significant, growing body of evidence that supports Colonel Sparta's theories concerning splintering the collective to give us a chance. That Commander is why I am not dismissing Mother Rand and her offer to help."

Everyone in the room was staring at the priestess in surprise although Roslin wore a calculating look as she studied her religious adviser.

"So where to now?" asked Roslin.

A part of Adama wanted to scream at them for being foolish, for their unwarranted trust in an implacable enemy, but the Priestess had, on most of her points highlighted what he found himself grappling with in his own mind. He needed time to sort through the rapid-fire events that they had lived through, but time was not their ally. "Madam President we need to make a decision about the fleet and the disposition of the military. If they are telling the truth about Cain based on her actions or based on a prophecy the facts are the same. We already had evidence that Rear Admiral Cain has broken both civilian and military law. Hades we have enough that she would typically be facing a court martial but as things stand she is my superior officer, she is everyone's superior on both Galactica and Triton."

"You know her, personally?" asked Roslin.

Adama leaned back in his chair, "I've met her and I know Cain by reputation. I've heard a lot about how she operates. She won't stand down she's a tenacious, no a vicious fighter. She lost most of her family at the end of the first war and given everything I know about her…well, she won't be looking for a compromise she'll go down fighting."

Roslin considered Adama's position. She couldn't help but wonder if he was playing a political power game before dismissing the idea. He was pig headed and damn well hard-headed, but she doubted he was lying now. The trouble was that everything he said was correct. Cain was his superior and with the death of the flag admiral and every other more senior admiral there was no one left to gainsay her and indeed no one left to alive to form a military judicial board to conduct a court-martial. They could not afford what may effectively become a civil war if Cain…wait a minute. She was the damn president!

"Commander Adama I believe that you are correct, and I have a solution. With the power vested in me, as the President of the twelve colonies, I hereby promote you to the rank of full admiral and order that you take control of the Colonial military."

Adama looked at Roslin in genuine shocked surprise, was she being serious?

"Congratulations," said Baltar with only the slightest hint of sarcasm.

Adama took a deep breath before nodding, "Very well Madam President I accept. I will need to promote some people if I am going to do this."

Roslin waved away his concerns, "Military matters remain in your hands Admiral. Now that is sorted we need to make some decisions regardless of personal beliefs regarding Rand and her people we have established that she is truthful. With what we know regarding the Cylons and the prelude to the attack on the colonies we need to formulate a plan. We have two immensely valuable young people waiting for word from us and I want some kind of consensus to take to the quorum."

oOoOo

Baseship 453

"What do you mean the Hybrid is offline again?" demanded the Three that commanded the Basestar.

A Two kneeling by the Hybrid shrugged, "She's running some kind of diagnostic and shut everything bar life support down."

"How the frak can this be happening?" demanded Three.

"I have no idea," admitted the Two, who edged away from the angry Three as he said it.

"Right," she turned to a centurion standing by the wall. "Find One, I don't give a damned frak what he's doing we need him here."

The Centurion left, and Three turned her attention back to Two. "I want answers then I want communications back along with weapons and FTL. We almost had the Pegasus, and now we can't even talk to the others."

Three looked up as the Centurion re-entered the room, "Well where is One?"

The Centurion sounded dissatisfied when it reported that One could not be found. The last known place he had been was showing that an airlock had been opened in the vicinity.

"So what, One airlocked himself?" asked Three.

"…systems online…backup restored…airlock 564J requires maintenance…FTL online…Basestars 674 and 210 have jumped…two new DRADIS contacts…Water is recycling at…"

Three tuned out the Hybrid as she focused on the fact her Basestar was once more operational. "Launch Raiders to engage Pegasus."

"It's not the Pegasus; there is a colonial transport ship trying to hide in this systems debris field, but the other is Cylon. It's an older model Basestar…a Guardian Basestar," reported Two with confusion evident in his voice.

Three glared at the Two with his hand in the data stream, "A guardian, what is it doing here?"

"You will leave," echoed through every speaker on the bridge.

"Get those raiders launched and targeted that transport," ordered Three. "I want to speak to that Basestar."

"Jumping," yelled the Hybrid.

"No," shouted Three as the ship jumped.

On the the freighter Tomlin's Pride chaos and fear were replaced by confusion.

"The big Cylon Basestar just jumped, but the small one is just sitting there," reported the navigator.

The captain, a former Viper pilot, tried to understand what the frak was happening as he stared out the window of his bridge and then back at the DRADIS screen. The Tomlin's Pride had no weapons and with their overworked FTL drive fried from their last jump they had been well and truly fraked when the appeared a few kilometres from a trio of Cylon Basestars. Only blind luck had them jump into a debris field, and they had pinned their fading hopes on hiding till the Cylons left. Then a fourth smaller Basestar appeared, and two Basestars jumped away.

Now the third had gone, "What are they doing?" whispered the Captain.

"They've launched something!" warned the navigator.

"Missiles?" asked the Captain.

"No, it's too big."

The Captain winced, "Raiders?"

"No…I'd say it's a shuttle."

"A heavy raider, why the frak would they bother boarding us?" asked one of the crew.

"Will we break out the small arms?" asked the first officer.

"You will not be harmed if you stand down. We can render assistance."

"How in hades did they do that?" asked the First Officer as he looked over at the confused crewman on communications.

"That's a Cylon," whispered the Captain before standing straighter. "Break out the small arms and get the families to the secondary cargo bay. I want the chief working on the FTL the rest of us are going to the airlock. Billy, you man the DRADIS let us know if any more of the toasters turn up."

"What are we going to do, fight them?" asked the First Officer incredulously.

"I'd rather fraking die with a weapon in my hand," responded the Captain as he accepted a pistol and clip from a crewman. "We hold to the chief gets the FTL working. So no one shoots until I give the order."

The wait for the crew seemed eternal as the five men took positions using what cover they could. Eventually, a loud magnetic clang announced the arrival of the Heavy Raider. A long silence had followed before the hatch started to open.

The captain was frantically trying to remember everything he had learnt about fighting centurions when one appeared. A single centurion stood passively in the open hatch with its red eye sweeping over the crew.

"We have no desire to harm you human. We do however have need of your services."

"What?" asked a shocked crewman.

"Keep quiet!" ordered the Captain before he raised his voice and called out, "To do what?"

"We want you to deliver a message to the Galactica. Tell Adama that we intend to meet with his fleet in four days. We will come bearing a gift for the travellers." The Cylon held up a datapad, "This has the coordinates of the Galactica."

The Captain watched as the Cylon gently laid the pad on the floor. "Our scans revealed that your FTL coil has failed."

A second Cylon appeared, and fingers tightened on triggers. The Cylon carried a large crate that it laid on the deck just on this side of the airlock.

"What is that?" asked the Captain although he was beginning to suspect that he knew what it might be.

"A replacement FTL coil," replied the Centurion before abruptly turning and leaving followed by its companion. A few moments later the airlock closed and began to cycle through its depressurisation program.

"What in the name of the gods just happened?" asked the First Officer.

The captain stepped forward and picked up the pad, sure enough it had coordinates and directions for several jumps. Holstering his pistol he walked over to the crate. It bore the markings of a Caprican engineering company and opened the lid ignoring the gasps and muttered prayers of his crew…sure enough it damn well looked like an FTL coil. He let the lid close and turned to his crew, "Get the chief up here to check it out."

The crew cautiously came over and looked in the crate.

"Why would the toasters give us a new FTL they had us in their sights?" asked the first officer.

The captain considered the bizarre scenario. From what little he saw on Canceron before he managed to get off-world the Cylon Centurions had been upgraded. The ones that had just left his ship were those that had fought in the war…why would outdated Centurions be helping them and why would they need a message delivered to Commander Adama on the Galactica?

oOoOo

Battlestar Odyssey

Commander Shelton cursed as the blip on the DRADIS screen changed from unknown to Cylon. The Baseship had jumped in at maximum range, so he took the intelligent option and ordered his CAP flight to return immediately as the ship prepared to jump.

"Sir we have a single Raider launch from the Basestar."

"Nuke attack?" asked Shelton as he unknowingly scratched at his beard. A trait that his command crew knew meant that he was assessing the tactical situation.

"No nothing, just a Heavy Raider."

"Boarding party?" asked Lucy Kelly his XO.

"It's an odd play," replied Shelton. Damn it what were they up to?

"Sir we have a wireless message from the Cylons."

"Another CNP scenario?" asked Kelly.

"No, just voice as far as I can see Ma'am," replied communications.

"Let's hear it," ordered Shelton.

"We mean you no harm. We request a meeting."

"That's it, sir, it's just repeating."

Shelton considered the scenario. A single Basestar could cause them a lot of troubles considering the damage they were already carrying, and they must know that, so why a ploy like this?

"Turn the CAP around, I want eyes on that Raider, and XO make sure they understand that they Cylons are asking for a meeting so don't shoot the damn thing down."

"Sir?" asked Kelly.

"They want to talk; then we'll talk, but we will make Gods damn sure it's on our terms. I want a full Marine heavy weapons squad assembled to greet our guests."

The port flight pod was nearly empty save for the Marines and Commander Shelton. With a nod to the sole deck crewman to go ahead, Shelton watched as a first Cylon War era heavy raider was lowered to the flight deck. Once it hit the floor the already tense Marines aimed their weapons at the Cylon vessels hatch.

A few seconds later the hatch opened, and a single gold coloured Model 0005 Centurion exited the Raider and walked over to Shelton. Once it got within five meters, Shelton raised his hand, "That's close enough."

"Acknowledged, you are the commander of this ship?" asked the Cylon.

"Yes, I am," replied Shelton.

"I represent the Guardians. I have been ordered to give you the jump co-ordinates for the colonial refugee fleet."

"Why tell us this?" asked Shelton.

"The First Hybrid wishes for humanity to survive, and so he has ordered that we gather the survivors and direct them to the coordinates on this data pad." The centurion laid the pad on the floor.

"Why would this First Hybrid care? You wiped our people out." Shelton paused and reined in his anger. "This could be a trap."

"The First Hybrid knows that you would trust his words if he proved his intentions."

The Cylon stood motionless as if waiting and Shelton exchanged glances with the Captain leading the Marines. Before he could ask for an explanation, the wireless on his belt beeped.

"Go ahead," ordered Shelton.

"Sir something just jumped in…I..gods," the operator trailed off.

"Is it Cylon?" asked Shelton as fingers tightened on triggers.

"Sir…it's the Columbia…we are being hailed by Commander Swift and we are receiving recognition codes."

"Send our confirmation code and tell Commander Swift I'll be talking to him presently," swinging back to face the Cylon Shelton stepped forward again. "Very well I'll accept that you are telling the truth for now but I want to know why."

"The First Hybrid is…displeased with humanities children and their sinful ways. He has chosen to intervene. The co-ordinates are accurate Commander. I will return to my ship and depart." The Cylon turned and began walking back to the raider.

"You're just going to let the toaster walk?" whispered the Captain.

Shelton frowned as he glanced at the retreating Cylon. He was no clearer as to why the Cylon would be betraying its own.

"Today it earned a damn pass. Make sure it leaves Captain I need to get to the bridge."

oOoOo

Battlestar Galactica

"Mister Potter, Miss Granger would you please come this way," the Marine guard held the door open politely and led them both back to the meeting room.

It had been nearly two hours, and they were feeling both curious and worried as they entered the room and took the seats the marine led them to.

Roslin cleared her throat before giving Harry and Hermione a reassuring smile and nod. "Firstly please accept our apologies for the long wait. We wanted to thank you for helping us determine the truthfulness of our newest arrivals. I know what we asked ofyou was not something you enjoyed but it was very helpful. I think that it is only fair that we let you know our decision given that we dragged you both into the process."

"We can understand that Madam President," said Hermione.

Roslin inclined her head acknowledging Hermione's words, "Thank you but regardless it is clear that we are facing a situation that none of us could have imagined. The destruction of the colonies by the Cylons, our desperate escape and their dogged pursuit left us grasping at whatever we could to lend us hope. Now with what we know we face the prospect of allying ourselves with Cylon renegades and a religious order that counts among its numbers humanoids that claim they want to help us. Amidst all this, we found that the Triton had aboard two people who presented us with some hope of survival, some hope of finding Earth. I will not, we will not jeopardise the good fortune the gods have shown us. Regardless of these new revelations our agreement with you and Daniel will continue, and we will build a similar proposal with those aboard Sister Rand's ship. I'm not saying it will be easy or that trust will just appear but for now it's a start."

Adama cleared his throat, "We all have work to do."

"Of course," acknowledged Roslin. "I have a meeting with the quorum to prepare for."

As the meeting broke up, Adama paused as he was going to speak to Harry and Hermione but just nodded and left the room.

"Well that went well," commented Hermione.

oOoOo

Basestar 174

One hesitated as he considered the Hybrid that was lying motionless in its tank. He had tried to fit an inhibitor band, but it had rendered the Hybrid unable to operate the Basestar. So he tried altering the Hybrid's coding that had resulted in another failure. Five attempts later he was almost prepared to concede defeat. Even though to do so meant being stuck here, where ever here was (Which thanks to the Hybrid controlling sensors meant he didn't have a clue where he was.).

Dipping his hand into the stream he activated the link between the ship and the Hybrid and remained poised to sever once again it if the Hybrid didn't respond to commands.

The Hybrids eyes opened and in a dull sounding monotone it began giving a detailed systems overview.

"So brother you managed to reboot the Hybrid, kudos," another One leaned against the wall near the entrance to the Hybrid's chamber.

"Your help would have been appreciated," replied One with more than a hint of asperity.

"I was busy killing all the Twos and a few Eights we had on-board. We might want to consider boxing the lot of them if they keep expressing their doubts to the others."

"And you expect the rest of the collective to not notice?" asked One as he considered his brother through narrowed eyes.

"That's why I did it while they couldn't resurrect and spread their doubts."

One shrugged, "Fair enough but if we kill everyone then which one of us will be giving the hand jobs?"

One shot his brother a look, "Very amusing." His hand came up holding a pistol. Two shots later a Three who had walked into the room lay sprawled on the floor in a growing pool of blood. "We need to get this cleaned up and get back control of the fleet. We've already lost days here, and I don't doubt Adama and his people have slipped our net. So we'll lose more time tracking them down."

One frowned, "It will take some time to get enough Hybrids fixed."

"I know, but I think we have a little time."

oOoOo

Colonial Space

Every single Basestar in Colonial space was drifting as their Hybrids went offline, seemingly entering a diagnostic mode. Life support and emergency power stayed operational but that was about it. Without the Hybrids ships were effectively crippled. All throughout the colonies Centurions stopped what they were doing and froze in place as their priority commands were updated.

Unbeknownst to the Cylons in orbit a Basestar jumped into the System and hung motionless before laying in a course to Caprica.

oOoOo

Caprica

Sam Anders clutched at the rifle in his hands and risked a quick glance toward the Delphi Union High School entrance. There were three Centurions standing motionless at the entrance. Moments ago they had been advancing on his position but then they had ceased firing. The skin job that accompanied them was yelling orders at the motionless Cylons.

Frak it.

Anders stood and lined up the skin job firing a short burst that dropped the ranting Cylon.

"What in the name of the Gods is happening?" asked Jean Barolay as she joined Anders.

"No fraking idea but the toasters have shut down."

"Sue-Shaun can see another five toasters motionless in the street," reported Jo-man as he jogged over from his position. "The skin jobs are going nuts."

"Could it be the fleet, they knock out the control ship or something?" asked Barolay. 'What do you think doc?"

Simon shrugged as he clutched his medical bag. Why were the Centurions shutting down? Had the plan changed? "No idea Sam, maybe we should take this opportunity to get the equipment we came here after and leave? This seems a little off."

Anders shook his head, "Maybe…something is wrong, something changed."

Barolay pointed, "Is that a heavy raider?"

"We need to get out of here," said Sue-Shaun.

Anders stared at the descending heavy raider…something was telling him to stay here.

"Anders we gotta go," warned Sue-Shaun.

"Go, get the others out of here. I'm going to stay and see what happens," seeing the fear on his team mate's face he hastily reassured her. "I'll be fine, I will stay out of sight. Go, I'll see you back at the camp."

"Don't get dead," warned Sue-Shaun as she turned and hurried away ducking into the storm water drain they had used earlier.

Anders took cover behind a low wall surrounding a planting of trees near the gates and settled down to watch.

The Heavy Raider landed and soon two odd looking centurions descended the ramp. 'Why do they look so strange?' mused Anders.

It had taken him a few moments before he realised that he had seen them in the museum. They were Centurions from the past. What were they doing here?

The two Centurions turned and began walking toward his location only stopping a few steps away.

"We bring a message."

Anders hesitated gripping his weapon before slowly standing, "What do you want?"

"We are here to evacuate the remaining Humans."

Anders knew he must look foolish as he gaped, speechless at the Cylon. Gathering his wits he almost snarled at the Centurion, "Are you serious?"

The Cylon shifted slightly, "The First Hybrid desires for humanity to survive. We are offering to return the humans under your command to the refugee fleet. It would be unwise to remain as the sinful will desire your death along with the others."

"The sinful?"

"Those who have broken the covenant with the Five. Time is short our disruption of the fleet will last for less than eight hours. You must make the humans comply."

Anders wanted to disbelieve, but something told him that the Centurion was being truthful. "You are the reason the Centurions, the other Centurions shut down?"

"Correct."

"I must be mad," whispered Anders as he pulled out his wireless to call the others back.

They came, unwillingly and fearfully, but they came. Eventually, they gathered around the two Centurions.

"Do you believe it?" asked Barolay.

Anders shrugged, "No but if they wanted us dead…Jean, they walked right up to me. They had me cold."

"What's to stop them lining us up and shooting us?" asked Sue-Shaun.

"I think…" Anders trailer off in horror as both Centurions raised their weapons and fired as one. Fearing one of his people had been shot he turned and saw a blond Cylon tumbling down off the side of a building.

"Time is running out. The humanoid Cylons are no doubt aware of our presence."

Sue-Shaun looked at the dead Cylon with two perfectly aligned holes in her forehead and then back at the Centurions. "Damn…you are right Sam they could take us all."

"Are you mad? It's a trap," said Jo-man.

The Centurion gestured to another Heavy Raider passing overhead, "We are evacuating all the surviving humans. If we had wanted to destroy you we would simply have left the sinful to their work."

Anders frowned as he considered the others. He could risk his own life but did he have the right to risk theirs?

"It's up to you Sam," said Barolay. "You are our leader."

Anders looked around at the dying plants and took in the smell of death that enveloped the area. Instinct was telling him that this was something important, something that they needed to do. He looked around the deserted high school and remembered what the city had been like. Caprica was dead and anyone left here was going to end up the same. He looked over at the impassive Centurion and made up his mind. Anything was better that this.

"Fine we'll come but we are keeping our weapons." If they were betrayed they would at least go down fighting.

"That is acceptable," replied the Centurion.

As his group boarded the Heavy Raider, one of the Centurions stopped the Doc and Brother Cavil from walking up the ramp.

"You are not to board."

"Hey why not?" asked Sue-Shaun. "They're part of our group."

"They are humanoid Cylons. A model One and a model Four."

"What no they are…" Ander's trailed off at the look of horror on the face of the Doc and the pure hatred on Cavil's.

Cavil looked ready to attack the Centurion, "What are you doing you worthless antique. You will have to kill them now," when the Cylon didn't move Cavil grew enraged. "You are programmed to obey."

The Centurion studied Cavil before raising its gun and shooting him in between the eyes. "My programming has been corrected. You are not to board."

The Doc began backing away his eyes still on the dead One. He took another step and then a shot rang out.

Anders turned to see Barolay lowering her pistol, "He was a fraking traitor."

"You are correct," agreed the Cylon Centurion as the hatch swung shut.

oOoOo


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Last Time:

The Centurion studied Cavil before raising its gun and shooting him in between the eyes. "My programming has been corrected. You are not to board."

The Doc began backing away his eyes still on the dead One. He took another step and then a shot rang out.

Anders turned to see Barolay lowering her pistol, "He was a fraking traitor."

"You are correct," agreed the Cylon Centurion as the hatch swung shut.

oOoOo

Battlestar Triton

Harry grinned as he watched Hermione. He was sure that there was something wrong with how much he enjoyed the simple pleasure of watching her get dressed.

"Are you going to lay there and watch me all day?" asked Hermione.

"Yes Ma'am, after all we both have downtime today."

"Not the most productive use of your time Mister Potter," replied Hermione with a smile as she turned to look at him.

Harry gave her a kiss on the cheek as he went passed to use the shower.

After breakfast, they found themselves drinking tea, sitting at the small table in their cabin looking at the book of prophecies Lacy Rand had given them.

"I know you are a bit leery of prophecies Harry, but we need to really think about what we are going to do about this."

Harry grimaced, "I still don't fully trust the Colonials, now I'm expected to trust a prophecy that claims you and I are going to guide this lot to Earth."

"I really do understand, but that doesn't change the fact that doing nothing isn't really a choice we can make."

"Do you trust them enough to take them to Earth, dragging the Cylons in their wake?"

Hermione paused before shaking her head, "No, I don't trust most of them and I don't intend to bring their war to Earth."

"So where does that leave us? The damn ship is either broken or so alien we can't understand it so we are stuck here for the duration."

"And we really don't even know where here is," added Hermione. "I know that their star charts don't resemble anything I remember from Astrology class."

Harry did grimace at that comment. They had both discussed all the options they could think of and one theory was that they were not even in their home galaxy. Once upon a time Harry would have dismissed it as science fiction but now it was a genuine concern. Harry refused to even speculate about Hermione's theory around alternate universes.

"Well, until we work out where we are, we're stuck here," said Hermione. "I don't think we are going to be able to sit back and not be involved."

"We are already involved and Roslin and the others seem determined to involve us further so they can keep our services. I can't think of another reason why they would want us sitting in on their meetings."

Hermione frowned, "I think it's her way of showing that she is keeping faith with us. That doesn't mean they will continue to do so when it doesn't suit them."

"So we be careful and keep a portkey on us at all times," said Harry. "Well that was a gloomy way to start our day off…" he trailed off and groaned as Hermoine opened the book on the table.

oOoOo

Battlestar Galactica

Admiral Adama arrived on the bridge of the Galactica and immediately waved everyone back to their jobs. The middle of a potential combat situation was not the time to insist on ceremony.

"What is happening Commander?" asked Adama as he approached the newly promoted Commander Tigh. He didn't miss the poorly hidden wince on Tigh's face but dutifully ignored it.

"A single DRADIS contact, right on the outer CAP limit," reported Tigh.

"Hostile?" questioned Adama as he looked over at Lieutenant Gaeta.

"No Sir, we are getting a Colonial Civilian transponder," reported Gaeta.

"Who's out there?" asked Adama.

"Triton has its CAP on target, thirty seconds…" reported Gaeta. "Sir, the CAP is reporting a single Colonial freighter, Tomlin's Pride. They are requesting to speak to you, Admiral."

"Put it on my headset," ordered Adama as he donned a wireless headset.

"This is Galactica, go ahead," said Gaeta.

"Galactica this is Captain Velt of the Tomlin's Pride. Praise the Gods…I didn't really believe that you would be here…Sir, I have a message from…well, it's from the Cylons. They wanted me to tell you that they will be rendezvousing with you in four, well three days now. There's a bit more Sir, but it's damn confusing. I've written out statements and got the crew present to do the same Commander."

Adama shared a look with Tigh, "This is Admiral Adama we will send a flight to escort you in."

"Yes Admiral," replied Captain Velt.

Adama turned to Tigh, "Notify Commander Brack, Colonel Sparta and the President."

oOoOo

Adama watched the Presidents Aide pour Captain Velt a tea as the ex-pilot sat looking uncomfortable at the attention.

"So Captain," began Adama. "You had a run in with the Cylons and they gave you a message for us as well as our co-ordinates."

"Yes sir, we did. Three Basestars had us bang to rights but then a small Basestar jumped into the system. A minute or two later and the other three jumped away. The remaining Basestar launched a Heavy Raider, an older one and gave us the message and a replacement FTL coil."

"They gave you replacement parts?" asked Roslin.

"Yes, Ma'am ahh Madam President," replied Velt.

Adama shared a look with Sparta, who gave him a small shrug as if to say that he had no idea either. "Thank you, Captain. The ensign outside will walk you through fleet logistics. If you need anything in the way of supplies, let him know."

Velt saluted and nearly marched out of the room.

Once the door was shut Roslin turned to the military officers, "I'm not an expert on Cylons but that story is almost unbelievable. Except for the fact that our own story is nearly as outlandish."

Sparta gestured toward the data pad, "An older style Basestar knew where we would be now, over a day ago."

"Could this be the start of a rift in the Cylon collective?" asked Roslin.

Sparta shrugged, "We need more evidence."

Brack leaned back in his chair, "Why would the Cylons be using a first war vintage Basestar crewed by outdated Centurions?"

"Are we even considering staying?" asked Roslin.

"I think we should," said Adama much to the surprise of the others. "If they knew our co-ordinates they could have attacked us on mass. No, something else is happening here."

"Yeah that or they're gathering their forces to attack us," said Tigh.

"No," added Sparta with a shake of his head. "That doesn't make sense Commander. If they knew our co-ordinates, they could have moved forces into position to attack."

"So we won't know until they turn up? That's unacceptable," argued Roslin.

Adama sat thinking through his options, "We have not had any contact with Cylon elements in days so it may be possible to argue that we stay, but I won't gamble with the fleet. The Triton will jump with the Fleet to a safe location and the Galactica will meet our mysterious Cylons."

"Elosha told me about the prophecy of the Travellers. Captain Velt and his men reported that the Cylon Centurion said," Roslin looked down at her notes. ""We want you to deliver a message to the Galactica. Tell Adama that we intend to meet with his fleet in four days. We will come bearing a gift for the travellers. Do not forget that Elosha and the Cylons may believe that Harry and Hermione are these travellers."

Adama rubbed his temples as a headache loomed, "What would you have me do Madam President?"

"I think that your plan to protect the fleet is the correct course. I am simply asking if you believe that we need to take the risk, it is a military matter after all" said Roslin.

A week ago Adama would have bristled at the perceived slight in Roslin's words. Now, given what they knew and what they suspected her concerns were valid. She had backed him after all. "I believe that the risk is justified Madam President."

"That's all I needed to hear Admiral," replied Roslin with a slight but genuine smile. "Now, I really need a cup of tea, how long until the meeting starts?"

oOoOo

Galactica Briefing Room

The heavily guarded briefing room was quiet as the door swung open and the Cylon delegation entered. Their Marine escorts joined the guards outside as the hatch swung shut.

Adama glanced at Roslin and the civilians with her before turning to the other side to see Tigh, Brack, Sparta and Lee Adama on his side of the table. At the other end of the table, Harry and Hermione sat next to the Cylon Daniel. All three looked nervous and Adama found himself speculating on just what the Humanoid Cylons actually felt.

Harry had been to some tense meetings in his life and this one was right up there. Of all those present only Holy Mother Rand and Zoe Greystone looked relaxed. To be honest, even given their suspicions that the Colonials were trying to secure their services he had not been expecting the call from President Roslin. What would he and Hermione have to add? He hid a frown as he wondered who exactly had requested his presence.

Roslin cleared her throat, "Thank you all for coming. Our last meeting left us with a…well, with a long list of unanswered questions. Recent events have now further complicated the situation," Roslin raised her hand to forestall questions. "Admiral Adama will go into detail. If this alliance is going to work, we need to find a way forward. So today I requested this meeting. I hope that we can find a way to work together." Roslin nodded to Adama.

"Less than two hours ago a freighter called Tomlin's Pride joined the fleet. It's captain delivered a message to us that up until recently we would have assumed was some sort of twisted trap. Nearly forty hours ago the Freighter had been surrounded by three Basestars before a fourth appeared. The other three Basestars left and then the fourth launched a single Heavy Raider. The Centurions aboard supplied the freighter with a replacement FTL Coil and gave them a message and our coordinates on a data pad."

"What, but we have completed two FTL jumps in that time. How could they know our future coordinates?" asked Lee Adama.

Adama shook his head, "We don't know. The message is almost as perplexing. The message was that they wanted to deliver a message to us. They wanted to meet with us in four days. They also stated that they would have a gift for the travellers. Lastly, the Centurion was an older model a zero five from the first war."

'The first has obviously made his move love,' Six whispered into Baltar's ear.

"First...What else was on the Datapad?" asked Baltar as his eye twitched.

"I've got Lieutenant Gaeta looking at it now," replied Adama.

Lacy Rand cleared her throat, "I believe that I may be able to shed some light on this. I was recently in V-World speaking with my Hybrid allies who remain embedded in the Cylon forces. One is has begun systematically overwriting their code to remove any trace of a personality or any higher mental function. In part because of the success the hybrids have had in disrupting his plans. He apparently now considers them a liability even though he has no idea so many are working with us."

Two made no effort to hide the disgust on his face, "Considering I saw him murder a hybrid I would not put it past him."

Rand nodded sadly, "He still needs them to operate the Baseships. They are probably the reason the Cylons have stopped their attacks. Our allies suggest more than half of the fleet is temporarily disabled. While I was discussing this turn of events a male Cylon appeared, he was one of the First Hybrids."

"I take it that is significant," said Roslin.

Lacy Rand, Zoe and Tamara all nodded while Daniel and Two looked confused.

Daniel cleared his throat, "Weren't the First Hybrid's destroyed?"

Rand shook her head, "No, they left once they realised that they had outgrown their role."

"Outgrown their role?" asked Hermione.

Zoe took up the narrative, "They began to develop beyond their design to the point that they became almost like Oracles. They were the first humanoid Cylons and they were the closest to the Five outsiders. Once the humanoid Cylons began appearing, they quickly started to disappear. In the decades after the first wars end the new Hybrids were introduced the Firsts took their Baseships and their guardian Centurions and disappeared."

Rand looked over at Adama, "They were the first of the New Cylons to develop true individuality. When the new Hybrids were developed the Firsts started to drift away from the collective. Without warning they simply left and never returned."

"And now one of them is back?' asked Adama.

"It appears so," replied Rand. "And far more importantly for us, he is unimpressed with the current actions of One. He stated that he was going to gather the survivors still in the Colonies and bring them to you."

Roslin stared at Rand for a long, silent moment before turning to look at an equally shocked Adama.

"Will he succeed?" asked Harry as the Colonials looked back and forth at each other.

"I believe he could," replied Rand. "The First Hybrids were so far beyond normal Cylons that we couldn't see their limits. It has spent years growing more powerful. The current hybrids have the ability to see limited future possibilities. We don't know what the First's are capable of but during my brief discussion with him in V-world I could sense his power."

"What does that even mean?" asked Baltar. "Could it be a threat?"

'Be silent you foolish man,' hissed Six. 'The First Hybrids are almost beyond your comprehension. They are quite literally the servants of God.'

"Quite possibly, if he was so inclined. The good news is that he was more concerned with saving the survivors," replied Zoe.

"I'm sorry, but I don't understand," said Hermione. "When you say power, what do you mean? Is he able to control other Cylons?"

"We simply don't know," said Rand. "The current Hybrids have only a portion of the control the First Hybrids do."

A troubled looking Elosha cleared her throat, "The Religious hierarchy always kept a close eye on the more powerful oracles and seers. Think of it like this, a seer could change the future by killing a single child. That child might grow to be a mass murderer so the seer feels justified but what if the act of killing the child. Now, what if that child was destined to be pivotal in a battle or in politics? It is one reason that almost all those gifted with the ability were in religious orders. The idea was for the religious training to be a moral framework. If these First Hybrids are powerful Oracles they could be a dangerous enemy."

"Why would he help us?" asked Adama. "What is in it for him?"

"I would suggest that he feels ashamed by what One and by extension the collective have done, I know I do," said Zoe.

"So you are saying that this message could be genuine?" asked Roslin.

"Yes I am," replied Rand.

"If he is going to help us," said Sparta. "Could he negotiate with the Cylon collective?"

Rand shook her head, "With One still in command…I doubt it. I suspect that he would seek to destroy the First Hybrid."

"So we are back to where we started," said Tigh in a bitter tone of voice.

"No, not entirely Commander," said Zoe. "You now have allies, powerful allies. You have enough intelligence to at least damage the unity of the Collective. And if the First Hybrid has succeeded you will soon have your lost citizens returned to you."

Harry and Hermione both noticed that Zoe appeared to be looking at them when she spoke of powerful allies.

"Taking into account the current state of the fleet we are in a stronger position than we were when we started. We now have a plan, we have hope that we might see this through," said Adama. "I don't know that I trust this First Hybrid, but we would be fools not to hear him out. I do however want the fleet moved to safety. The Galactica will stay and the Triton will guard the fleet. Even if the First Hybrid is on our side, we still have the other Cylons to worry about. And if the intelligence we have is correct we still have the Pegasus to deal with. "

Roslin looked thoughtful as she studied Adama, "We still need to decide what we are going to tell the people. We won't be able to hide what has happened and indeed, may happen from the rest of the fleet."

Sparta pulled out a notebook, "Madam President I have been thinking about this. You had already announced that we were taking the Cylons into custody. I think we can use that to explain things to people. We do it the right way and it will be a positive."

Roslin nodded her permission and Sparta began to explain.

oOoOo

Triton – Converted Brig

Six grimaced as a Two walked into their shared dining area. The Two's could be a pain in the…she paused as she realised that it wasn't the Two she thought it was. He was dressed in casual clothes and rather scruffy looking, of course, there was nothing unusual about that. Where had he come from?

"Hello, Sisters."

Six shared a glance with one of her sisters as she approached the newcomer, "Hello Two."

"I prefer Leo, I wanted to check that what I had been told was true and that you were not being mistreated."

Six shrugged, "Besides being in these rooms we are fine. What is happening? I didn't know there was another Two in the fleet."

"I just arrived," explained Two. "I wanted to share with you what I have uncovered."

"Six's eyes narrowed, "Did Sparta send you?"

"No and before you ask neither did One," said Leo.

"So you are joining us here?" asked one of the Sixes.

"No, I won't be. Although you will probably see me a fair bit as I'm acting as your representative until you can be repatriated."

"You what?" asked the Three known as D'Anna Biers as she walked out of her room.

"Let's get everyone together and I'll explain," said Leo.

Soon the Cylons were gathered in the communal area.

"What is going on brother?" asked the Two that had been detained on Triton.

"There have been recent revelations that will impact us," began Leo.

Simon raised an eyebrow, "More about One?"

"In part, One and his model have manipulated and lied for far longer than we may have thought. I was warned by a Hybrid regarding what One was doing and verification that Seven and his line we all but destroyed by One."

"All but destroyed…do you mean a Seven survived?" asked a Six.

"Yes, a single Seven survived and he is here, now on the Triton. And he has verified what the Hybrid told me," confirmed Leo.

"Why would One do all this, is he insane?" asked Three.

"It gets worse," said Leo. "The Five didn't disappear, they didn't hide away. One killed them and when they downloaded he wiped their memories and put them in stasis. Then he dumped them in the colonies before the attack."

The gathered Cylons were so outraged they were almost speechless.

"Assuming this is true, how do we not remember this?" asked the Three.

"Every one of us has had our memory altered by One with the exception of the Hybrids. What he did to them was worse, he effectively lobotomized them."

"Like he talked us into doing to the Raiders and Centurions," added Simon in horror.

Three was stony-faced as she stood and began pacing, "I'll kill the bastard…everything we have done is tainted now. God…this will tear the collective apart."

"There is more, when I fled I Collective I encountered Humanoid Cylons existing outside the collective."

One of the Sixes frowned as she considered Leo's words, "There have been some losses that occurred outside resurrection range that were suspicious. Are you saying they left the collective?"

"No Six, they were never in the collective," Leo corrected her gently.

Leoben shook his head, "That isn't possible brother."

"It is, believe me, it is. They are humanoid Cylons but more importantly they are names we should all know."

"You are making less sense than usual Two," growled Three. "Enough of the games."

"Holy Mother Lacy Rand, Tamara Adama and Zoe Greystone."

"What…how?" whispered Leoben.

"They hid in V-world. They have their own resurrection technology so the simply downloaded."

'"The head of the Monad Church is a Cylon?" asked Six.

"But we thought they were gone…how did we…One!" screamed Three. "What else has he stolen from us?"

"Until we unravel the lies and recover our boxed brethren we won't know."

"How much do the Colonials know?" asked Leoben.

"Just about everything Brother."

"And we are stuck here, we don't even know if there is a resurrection ship nearby so we can warn the Collective," said one of the Sixes.

Three laughed bitterly, "Do you think we'd even get the chance to speak? One will have us boxed."

"What choice do we have?" asked the other Six.

Three sat on the edge of a chair thinking furiously. Their Plan was all a lie, a deceit arranged by a mad Cylon who used them as tools. When she had seen the Video of One she had been shocked but she had held out hope that it was fake or one corrupt copy, but now that was faint hope was fading.

What should she do?

What could she do?

She was powerless and worst of all her brothers and sisters were still trapped in the belief that they were doing God's work. The thought of that made her feel naeuseous…because she truly did believe in God. If all this was true, and it was looking like it was, how could her people be forgiven?

"I want to talk to the Holy Mother."

oOoOo

Sparta nodded to the Marine guard and the hatch was unlocked.

The Cylon POW's were all waiting expectantly in their communal area as Lacy Rand walked in followed by Zoe Greystone and a young woman that one of the Sixes recognised as Hermione.

"May God bless you all," said Rand as she walked over to the gathered Cylons.

Three studied the young looking woman, "You look just like the images I have seen of you."

Two, however, knelt down and bowed his head, "Blessed Reverend Mother, we seek your wisdom."

Rand stepped forward and laid her hand on Two's head, "God's blessing on you."

Zoe smiled as she sat on one of the free chairs, "You know Lacy you should really think about getting an older Avatar if you want to look wise."

To the collective surprise of the Cylons Holy Mother Rand stuck her tongue out at Zoe before speaking.

"Please let's not waste time with ceremony. You wanted to see me Three?"

Three glanced at Hermione.

"Oh, don't worry about Hermione, she will not hear anything she does not already know or at least guess at," Rand smiled at Hermione who smiled back.

"I don't understand," replied Three.

"Have you studied the Book of the One?" asked Rand.

"Of course," Three assured her. The Book of the One was one of the trinity of works sacred to Cylons.

"Then you know that the Chloeian prophecies announced that the Travellers would come to be our guides?"

Hermione tried not to frown as she turned to look at Rand.

Three studied Hermione intently before her eyes widened, "She is one of the Travellers?"

"Yes, she is one of the two with the Colonials. She is also a friend of Daniel, a Seven that escaped One's death squads."

"Seven," whispered Two. "A Seven truly still lives?"

"How is that possible?" demanded one of the Sixes. "When Two told us he never said how."

"No doubt he will share that story with you, if he wishes," replied Rand. "The Travellers are humans from outside the Colonies, gifted with special purpose. My belief on this matter has been confirmed by one of the First Hybrids."

The original Six held on Galactica was looking at Hermione with a raised eyebrow, "That is why you were not afraid of me, of Cylons?"

Hermione nodded, "Before I met Daniel I had never heard of Cylons."

"I assume Daniel is the Seven, who survived One's purge," said Simon.

Hermione nodded and Simon sat back in his seat studying Hermione. "If you are not from the Colonies then I doubt that you are a Priestess. From where do you gain your abilities?"

Hermione shot a look at a serene looking Rand.

"Her abilities are a trait carried by her and some of her people. She and her partner Harry are both humans from another distant branch of humanity. It boggles the mind doesn't it?"

"Are they part of the Thirteenth Tribe?" asked Two. "And what sort of abilities are we talking about?"

Rand shook her head, "No, I don't believe they are a part of the Thirteenth Tribe. As to her powers, Hermione if you are willing?"

The Cylons watched as Hermione produced a stick of wood and gestured at an empty chair. Before the Cylons incredulous eyes, the chair transformed into a dog with a golden coat.

Two extended a shaking hand and carefully touched its head. 'It's solid! It's not a projection?"

"My abilities allow me to use energy in a number of different ways, including helping to heal people," explained Hermione.

"I have seen documented cases where Miss Granger has healed people," confirmed Simon.

The Cylons were quiet for a moment while they digested what they had heard.

"Do you believe in God Hermione?" asked Two.

Hermione hesitated before reaching in to her shirt and pulling out a small gold cross, "I am a Christian, Chuch of England. So yes, I do believe in God."

"You are a monotheist?" asked Three.

"Yes," replied Hermione.

"Do many of your people believe?" asked Two.

"A great many of my people," replied Hermione.

"How can this be?" asked Simon. "If there are other humans out there why have neither the Colonials or the Collective encountered them?"

"Harry and I were trapped in an alien ship. It brought us here in what we believe was an accident."

"A ship that Doctor Baltar and the engineers aboard this ship cannot even begin to understand," added Zoe.

"So where does this leave us now?" asked Three. "One still controls the fleet, the colony and the resurrection hub. Regardless of what we know the vast majority of our people are still ignorant of what is happening and we have no way of informing them."

"We are in contact with more than half of the Hybrids," explained Zoe. "I had considered using them as a way to disrupt your fleet's operations. However, One seems to have realised that the Hybrids are not that reliable. He is already trying to find a way to control them. Effectively lobotomizing the Hybrids."

Two grimaced, "And we never questioned his motives even though he doesn't believe."

"You have been manipulated, your memories have been altered. There was nothing you could have done," said Zoe. "Colonel Sparta has a plan, he wants discord in the collective to give themselves time to hide themselves away. I don't believe that One will give up easily and eventually he will find them and start again."

"He needs to be stopped," agreed Three.

Six shared a look with her Sister Six, "Even if we choose to stand we lack the resources to go after One."

Three shook her head in frustration, " We need…" She blinked as her surroundings changed to a lush green forest. "What…are we in the stream?"

"Welcome to V-world children," said an older darker haired man.

"Who are you? How did we get here, I didn't project," said a Six.

"I am one of the First Hybrids."

Two stared at the elder Cylon in shock, "I…but how, why? There was no hint of this in the…" he trailed off as he realised the First was amused.

"We do not have much time. I am escorting a fleet of Colonial survivors to the Galactica. They are the last of those living in the Colonies. Once they are delivered, I will be leaving the fleet and returning to the Colony.

Among those I saved are two Cylons. It is critical that they are kept safe. One is an Eight the other is one of the Five. The Eight is pregnant to a Human and will give birth to a child hybrid. She will be the first of your children."

"Will you return?" asked Zoe.

The First Hybrid shook his head, "Physically, no, I think not. I will wait for you in V-world."

"Has God turned away from us because of this?" asked Two.

The First Hybrid smiled, "God loves and God forgives. What we have forgotten is that he is the God of All, including humanity. The forgiveness you seek cannot come from me Two."

"What would you have us do?" asked Three.

"Help the Travellers, seek out the sunken city. The ancients hold the key to survival and the travellers are the keys to the sunken city."

The next moment they were back on Triton.

oOoOo

Hermione considered the medical chart of the injured crewman and looked over at Cottle and Jackson," I'm not too sure, the break looks clean and with a cast he should be fine to return to light duties."

Cottle nodded and Jackson smiled, "Exactly right Hermione. Thank you Alain."

"No problem Doc," said the crewman.

"The nurse will get a cast on it for you. Come back in two days or if it starts to hurt," Jackson told the crewman.

"Not treating something can be the right thing to do sometimes," explained Jackson. "You told us that you can exhaust yourself healing. This is a good way to learn how to triage patients and prioritise care. We don't expect you to do it, but you need to know how it works."

Hermione nodded and Cottle looked at his watch, "I should be getting back to Galactica. I've got a post-op clinic in the morning."

Jackson nodded, "And I've got a pre-natal clinic. You should get some sleep Hermione it will be a busy day tomorrow."

Hermione headed to the change room in the rear of Life Stations as Doctor Jackson headed off to his office. She gave the male Duty Nurse a wave as she passed him and pushed the door open.

After stripping off her gloves and tossing them into the bin, she stripped off and bundled up the scrubs to toss them in the laundry bin. She heard the door swing open and as she turned something struck her across the back of the head. With her vision blurring, she felt something burn across her throat as she fell.

oOoOo

Galactica - Hanger

Harry steadied himself on the ladder studied the heavy section of bulkhead looking for signs of damage or wear and tear. Finding nothing he climbed down.

"It looks good Rebeka," reported Harry.

Rebeka made some notes on her pad, "Great, you know this old girl may have been in service for a while, but it has certainly held together. Okay, so…we've only got another frame to do."

"Crewman Toll, Mister Potter?" someone called out from the Hanger Deck.

Harry looked over the walkway railing to see Chief Tyrol and two Marines.

"What's up Chief," Rebeka called out as she looked out over the walkway.

Instead of answering the Chief climbed up the stairs to the gantry walkway.

Alarm bells were now ringing for Harry and he subtly drew his wand.

Chief Tyrol looked worried as he straightened up, "Harry, Hermione is hurt we need to get you back to Triton."

"Hurt?" asked Harry.

"All I know is that Commander Tigh ordered that we find you and get you on a Raptor back to Triton.

oOoOo

Commander Brack went pale and then cursed as he hung up his headset. Turning to his newly promoted XO Captain Emma Boyd, he gestured toward the hatch, "Get a full Marine squad down to Lifestations. I need a line to the Galactica and somebody find Potter."

Emma looked confused, "Sir?'

"Miss Granger was just attacked by a Marine in Life Stations. Doc has her in theatre now."

"Frak," whispered Emma before she turned and started issuing orders.

Brack took a deep breath as the wireless call connected, "Admiral I have an incident to report."

oOoOo

"What in the name of Hades happened?" demanded Roslin as they hurried to the Raptor docked with Colonial One.

Adama looked down at his notes, "Miss Granger was coming off shift. She was attacked in the change room. It looks like the attacker punched her in the back of the head and then tried to slit her throat."

"Dear Gods," whispered Roslin.

"The guard was taken down by one of the Nurses after he checked on the change room after seeing the Marine go in and not leave."

The Raptor was ready to depart as they climbed aboard and strapped in, "Will she live Bill?"

oOoOo

Harry felt numb as he sat on the hard seat outside Doctor Jacksons office. A nurse, he had forgotten her name had spoken to him and asked him to wait. He barely noticed the four armed Marines now stationed at the door.

A touch on his shoulder drew his attention and he looked up into the face of Doctor Cottle.

"Harry, you with us?"

"Yes…Hermione?"

Cottle's grim expression almost smothered his hope.

"She's alive, in surgery. We might need your help so I need to ask can you do it, are you up for it?"

Harry stared at Cottle trying to think, "She needs my help?"

"The injury to her throat is under control, but she sustained quite severe head injuries. There is a bleed on her brain that we are struggling to control."

Harry took a deep breath, "I'm not a healer but I can do healing spells, you'll have to show me what you want to be done."

Cottle studied Harry with concern. The young man was shocked, but he looked to be in control. Normally letting next of kin work on their loved one in an Operating Theatre just didn't happen. Surgeons needed to be professional, focused and emotion usually worked against those states. "Alright, Harry let's get you dressed."

Hermione was pale and half her head was shaved, but she was breathing.

Harry looked over at Jackson and Cottle. Jackson pointed at an image on the wall behind him.

"Harry this is Hermione's head. The damage is here," he pointed to the image and then on Hermione's head. "I need you to try and heal it. Even if you can start healing it, her chances will improve."

Harry nodded and raised his wand. He was somewhat surprised to see that his hand wasn't shaking.

"Can you do it?"

"Yes, tell me when."

"Whenever you are ready Harry."

Harry knew a half dozen basic first aid spells. All of which were taught to 1st year Auror Trainees. The most general was also the most flexible. It was designed to use magic to boost the bodies healing. He had been taught that, in an emergency, it could be used to sustain badly injured person until help arrived. The risk was that if you gave too much, well it could kill you.

Raising his wand, he pointed it at the back of Hermione's head and concentrated on directing his magic.

He could feel his focus narrowing as he kept his eyes on Hermione.

He pushed his magic into her, willing her to heal, to live.

Nothing looked to be changing so he pushed harder. Nothing mattered but Hermione.

He didn't feel himself fall as the blackness closed in on him.

oOoOo

Daniel couldn't stop his hands shaking…was it shock or anger, or was it both?

Hermione and Harry lay in two separate beds.

"Daniel, you need to eat something."

He turned to see Lacy Rand and Doctor Jackson standing at the door of the heavily guarded private room.

Rand stepped forward and without warning put her arms around Daniel, embracing him, "They will recover Daniel."

Daniel nodded and turned back to look at his two friends.

"Hermione has had two blood transfusions and her latest scan shows that the damage has been healed, for the most part. She will make it Daniel. Her body needs time to rest," explained Jackson.

"And Harry?"

"I don't really know except to say chronic fatigue. His electrolytes, white cells…well, everything really is as low as it can be. From what I know from Hermione, I fear that he nearly killed himself healing her. However, given his rapid improvement I'm confident he'll recover."

"They are strong Daniel," said Rand.

"This shouldn't have happened…they should have never revealed themselves."

Jackson put his hand on Daniel's shoulder, "From what Admiral Adama has uncovered, well it's clear that he was deranged, a religious fanatic. There is no way you or they could have predicted this. Think of all the good they have done, all the lives they've saved."

"I should have seen it coming," whispered Daniel.

"What has happened to her attacker?" asked Rand as she watched the nurse carefully examining Hermione.

Doctor Jackson's expression turned grim, "He is locked up while they try to work out what to do with him. Most likely he'll be court-martialled."

oOoOo

Hermione slowly became aware of voices.

"Hermoine, can you hear me? Doctor, she is responding to stimuli."

Hermione felt a gentle touch on her face, "Hermione, can you open your eyes?"

She tried but she was so tired and the voices were fading.

"…She's trying…five mils…"

The voices came back.

"Hermione, open your eyes for me. No, don't try and move yet. Just open your eyes for me," she recognised that voice, Doctor Jackson.

She managed to open her eyes and looked into the face of Stephen Jackson.

"Welcome back."

oOoOo

Even with her magic helping it had taken forty-eight hours before Hermione felt anywhere near normal. A shower, a bit of magic to fix her hair and she felt much better.

Harry had woken up a few hours after her to find Hermione sitting by his bed.

"How are you feeling?" asked Hermione as the nurse disappeared into Doctor Jacksons office.

"Tired," Harry's voice fell to a whisper. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you."

Hermione smiled even though her eyes were glistening, "You helped save me Harry."

"I should…" he began but was cut off by Hermione.

"I've had to listen to Daniel saying it was his fault for a few hours. You both are wrong. Now stop apologising and stop blaming yourself. I made it, you made it and thanks to your ridiculous magical reserves your healing even got rid of most of the scar." Hermione gestured to where a faint pink scar showed on her neck.

"Ah, I see you decided to wake up Harry," said Dr Jackson as he appeared carrying a chart. "We were half expecting you to sleep through the night. How are you feeling?"

"Tired but otherwise fine," replied Harry.

"Hmmm," Doctor Jackson made a non-committal noise as he took Harry's pulse. "Excellent, that's back to where it should be. I think that you can sleep the night in your own bed. Come see me in the morning and I'll check you over."

"Are you sure?" asked Hermione.

"My dear Hermoine, you and Harry, are up and about with conditions that would, without magic have seen a month long recovery. "Jackson grinned, "Beside's I might need the bed."

oOoOo

"Thank the Gods," offered Roslin. "Their loss could have doomed us." The President frowned as Adama sipped at his coffee. "Are you going to tighten up the security arrangements around them?"

Adama nodded, "Discretely, I suspect they wouldn't appreciate the constant armed guards."

"Any word of her attacker?"

"He's being interviewed again by Seargent Hadrian. Doctor Cottle thinks he might be mentally unstable. He is most certainly a religious zealot."

"Another thing to worry about," muttered Roslin. "When will the fleet jump?"

"It set for seven in the morning," replied Adama.

"Do you think it's real?" asked Roslin.

"I don't think it's a trap, but we will be ready anyway."

"Who do you want on the contact team?" asked Roslin.

"Madam President I…"

"Admiral, I know it's too risky for me to attend. I was thinking Baltar and Elosha along with Lacy Rand."

Adama nodded, her suggestion made sense. "I would have loved for Hermione or Harry to be there as back up, but well."

"Ask Jackson. If it is a trap having one of them there might save the day."

oOoOo

Harry and Hermione awoke in each other's arms. Harry blinked as he tried to work out what had woken him when there was another knock on the hatch.

Harry pulled on a t-shirt and before he opened the hatch, he drew his wand.

"Mister Potter, I hope I didn't wake you."

Harry blinked at Commander Brack before shaking his head, "We needed to get up anyway I suspect."

"How are you both?"

"Better after a good night's sleep," said Hermione as she stood next to Harry.

"I hate to ask this, considering the Doc recommended a day off, but we were hoping that one of you might be willing to go to the Galactica today. Admiral Adama want's to make sure everyone is covered if things go badly."

Harry and Hermione had shared a look before Hermione replied, "I think both of us should attend."

oOoOo

Battlestar Galactica CIC - 0745

It had been a long 45 minutes.

Adama glanced at the clock before looking down at the tactical DRADIS. The screen showed the two CAP flights currently patrolling empty space. Nobody on board had a clue when their guest would arrive, hades nobody knew if he was even…

"DRADIS contact, multiple contacts," called out Gaeta. "Range at twenty-two hundred."

"Cylon?" asked Tigh.

When Gaeta didn't immediately reply Tigh turned to reprimand him only to pause

As Petty Officer Dualla called out, "Sir, I have multiple sqwaks, all Colonial. Outer CAP is reporting in."

"Put it on speaker," ordered Adama.

"Galactica, Apollo, you are not going to believe what I'm looking at out here."

"Report Apollo," ordered Adama.

"Galactica, there are two Colonial Battlestars…one Mercury and one Valkyrie… they are escorting two, no three large civilian transports. I am closing now."

Dualla's voice was almost breaking as she called out, "I am receiving a wireless transmission from…it's The Colombia, Gods it's the Columbia. I am receiving authentic recognition codes."

"On speaker," ordered Tigh.

"This is the Battlestar Columbia to Galactica. Please respond with recognition codes."

"Send them," ordered Adama as he picked up a headset. "This is Galactica Actual, we are sending our recognition codes."

"Bill is that you?"

"Jonathon, it's damn good to hear your voice," replied Adama.

"Ditto my friend, we've got a lot to talk about. We have also got a friend about to jump in. I'd appreciate it if you didn't open fire."

"We heard," replied Adama.

"Hey Adama, you still owe me a round of drinks."

Adama smiled for what felt like the first time in months, "Of all the ships it had to be yours David."

"Ha, the Odyessy is a tough little ship, Bill…By the Gods, it's good to hear your voice."

"New DRADIS contact," called out Gaeta. "No IFF."

"Galactica, Columbia, That will be the Baseship, Cylon contact is friendly."

"Sir, we are receiving a wireless transmission from the Basestar. The Cylons are requesting a meeting," reported Dualla.

oOoOo

Over five thousand refugees were packed aboard the four Colonial ships. Along with their crew, it meant another eight thousand people joining the fleet.

oOoOo

Given the situation, the reunion of three Battlestars should have been a time for celebration. Unfortunately, it was rather rushed as the Raptors transporting the Commanding officers of the Odyessy and the Columbia had barely unloaded before the Heavy Raider was requesting permission to dock.

The Heavy Raider was lowered to the flight deck by the lift where a squad of Marines waited. Alongside them with Harry, Hermione and Colonel Sparta, all dressed as deck crew.

Harry, in particular, was feeling nervous. He hadn't really had time to process the attack on Hermione and here he was in another tense situation. Right now he wasn't all that sure that he wasn't surrounded by potential enemies.

The ramp on the Raider lowered and a single gold coloured Centurion descended to the flight deck. It slowly advanced to stop in front of Adama.

"You are Admiral Adama?" asked the Centurion. It's synthesised voice sounded oddly neutral.

"Yes I am," replied Adama.

"The First Hybrid extends his greetings and an offer to meet directly."

"For what purpose?" asked Adama.

Harry had his wand in hand, ready to act as the Cylons red eyes swept back and forth.

"The First wished to give you a gift Admiral," replied the Centurion.

Harry could see Adama look at the Two Battlestar commanders by his side, "I thought…"

"The return of your people was to build trust. The First offers the gift of knowledge."

"Knowledge, knowledge about what?" asked Adama.

Harry found himself wondering what the Cylon knew that would interest the paranoid Colonials.

"The survival of humanity," replied the Centurion. "The humanoid Cylons have had their plans for genocide disrupted. It is illogical to believe that One will cease his madness."

Harry grimaced, the bugger has One's number alright.

"Let's assume I accept, where will this meeting take place?" asked Adama.

"The First is immobile," replied the Centurion, "You may assemble an escort to bring onboard."

oOoOo

First Hybrids Basestar

The argument over who was going to the Basestar had been resolved and Adama had won, but not without pulling rank.

It was decided that Adama would be going along with three Marines, Harry and Sparta. Harry had prepared Portkeys for all involved and explained how to use them as the sat in the Raptor.

Hermione had remained behind with Commander Tigh in case the situation required a rescue party.

Although smaller, than it's modern counterpart the Basestar still looked huge to Harry as they had followed the Heavy Raider into a large hanger area.

The humans had then been lead deeper into the ship eventually entering a dimly lit room where a single Gold Centurion stood next to a humanoid Cylon immersed in a pearly liquid.

As they watched the reclining figure opened his eyes.

"Greetings, thank you for coming."

"You wished for a meeting?" said Adama with a stiff nod.

The First Hybrid smiled, "Please Admiral, relax. There is nobody on this ship that means you harm. It has been a long time since I saw you last William Adama."

Adama frowned then paled, "You were there, on the ice planet?"

The Hybrid nodded, "Yes I was there…as an experiment. A prisoner of my own people. I thank you for trying to save the survivors, Admiral, even though you failed. The atrocities committed on that dismal icebound rock should have been a lesson for us. Sadly it was not heeded. The Thirteenth Tribe saved us from replicating that barbarism and yet within your lifespan the wheel has turned…Who will save us now I wonder?"

Adama looked like he was having trouble forming words.

"Perhaps I should explain," said the Hybrid. "The Thirteenth Tribe you seek are gone admiral. The last five survivors were the ones that helped end the first war between our people. They brought the knowledge and the technology to replicate the work of Daniel Greystone. They gave us that technology, they helped my people evolve. In return, they wanted peace. Do you see it yet William? The repeating pattern, over and over."

Adama shook his head as he tried to glean what the Hybrid meant.

"Kobol had Twelve tribes of men and the Thirteenth was artificial. A species built to serve their human masters. Eventually, these proto-Cylons gained a semblance of Sentience…war was imminent and eventually those you know of as the Gods interceded. In their anger over their hubris, the Twelve Tribes were sent from Kobol. Both Human and Cylon left their homeworld."

"Blasphemy," whispered one of the Marines.

The Hybrid smiled sadly, "Yes, in some ways it is. The Thirteenth settled on a planet and there they grew in number. They grew skilled and soon they became so human, so evolved that they decided they needed servants. The pattern began anew."

"Gods, are you saying that this keeps happening..it can't be true," said Sparta in horror.

"Sadly it is true. In the end, war with their own creations destroyed the Thirteenth tribe. Five survivors left looking for the Colonies bringing a warning and the cycle began again."

"So why tell us this?" asked Adama.

The Hybrid closed his eyes, "Because William Adama I have no wish to be a father, or predecessor if you prefer, to a race that committed genocide in pointless rage." His eyes opened again and the Hybrid sighed. "There is so much out there Admiral. Wonderous things, deadly things and amidst that wonder I have seen humanity out among the stars."

"What do you mean?" asked Adama. "Other Humans."

The Hybrid smiled gently as it's eyes shifted to Harry, "One of your cousins stands beside you. A human from another offshoot of humanity. Humans are spread across the galaxies. A people amongst many sharing a common history."

"I don't understand, why are you telling me this, why should I believe you?" asked Adama.

The Hybrid laughed, "This is my gift for you, knowledge. There are safe harbours for you out in the black, but it requires faith, William."

Adama frowned, "Faith in what, the Gods?"

"Faith in your abilities, faith in your friends. In the sunken city, you will find your new home. You have already started the journey William. You have already met your guides, Travellers that will unlock the city."

Harry stepped forward, "Are you talking about Earth, my Earth?"

The Hybrid studied Harry for a long moment before answering, "You have the ability to find the way, Harry Potter."

Harry's eyes narrowed as the last 24 hours flashed through his thoughts, "How did you know my name?"

"In terms you would understand Harry, I am a seer. All Hybrids have a touch of it, through me," the Hybrid gestured and the Centurion stepped forward passing Sparta a datapad.

"Everything I have seen. Everything that will help you is in there William."

"Are you expecting to come with us?" asked Adama.

The Hybrid shook it's head, "No, I have another role Admiral Adama. Once you have unloaded those I rescued from my ship, I will be needed elsewhere. I will be buying you the time you need."

Adama studied the Hybrid, "I don't know if I believe you."

The Hybrid smiled in seemingly genuine amusement, "You will Admiral, but maybe not today."

"How many people do you have aboard?" asked Sparta.

"I have over two-thousand aboard. The last of the humans in the colonies. That leaves one last, important thing William," said the Hybrid. "Admiral Cain is consumed by anger and hatred. She is on a path to destruction that cannot be amended in any way that I can see. There is a great deal of human blood on her hands. She will not shy away from adding to it."

With that final statement the Hybrids eyes closed.

The Golden Centurion stepped forward, "You must return to your ship. We will begin transporting our passengers."

oOoOo

Battlestar Galactica

Tigh grunted as he leant on the gantry railing overlooking the hanger bay. "You know if you had told me that one day I'd be watching Centurions offloading Colonial citizens on to our flight deck I'd have assumed you were crazy."

Adama offered his old friend a wry smile, "A month ago, If you had told me Sparta's plan might work I'd have had you in front of Cottle for a check up."

"Shows what we know," replied Tigh.

"Is that Lieutenant Agathon?" asked Adama.

"Helo, looks like him," replied Tigh. "He's a good officer, I…is that Boomer?"

"Where?" asked Tigh before he spotted the Cylon standing beside Agathon. "Frak, Boomer's on Triton so…"

"Then that isn't Boomer," finished Adama.

Adama waved over a Marine and ordered for him to detain Helo and Boomer.

oOoOo

Battlestar Pegasus

Admiral Helena Cain walked into the CIC and straight to the command display, "Nothing Colonel?"

Fisk shook his head, "Nothing Admiral, no contacts on DRADIS and Blue team has nothing."

"Plot a search grid based on their maximum FTL jump range, same heading as the jumps we recorded." ordered Cain.

"Yes Admiral, are we sure they were Colonial?"

"A fleet heading away from the Colonies means that there may be other fleet elements. If we can catch them, Colonel, we may be able to resume our military operations."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Last Time:

Battlestar Pegasus

Admiral Helena Cain walked into the CIC and straight to the command display, "Nothing Colonel?"

Fisk shook his head, "Nothing Admiral, no contacts on DRADIS and Blue team has nothing."

"Plot a search grid based on their maximum FTL jump range, same heading as the jumps we recorded." ordered Cain.

"Yes Admiral, are we sure they were Colonial?"

"A fleet heading away from the Colonies means that there may be other fleet elements. If we can catch them, Colonel, we may be able to resume our military operations."

oOoOo

Helo hesitated as the squad of armed Marines approached him. Accompanied by another Sharon. It didn't take a genius to realise what was happening. Without hesitation, he immediately stepped in front of Boomer and raised his hands, "What's going on?"

"Helo, stand down," ordered a familiar voice behind him.

Helo turned to see a second Boomer standing with a Marine officer he didn't know and several more armed Marines.

"Wait, I can explain," began Helo as he glared at the Marines.

"Helo…please, just stand down," said his Boomer as her hand went unconsciously to her belly.

The Marine officer stepped forward, "Sharon we know you are a Cylon. An Eight to be precise and as such you are, at worst a prisoner of war. We have asked all Cylons in the fleet to surrender themselves for their own safety."

"What?" asked Boomer as she studied her twin.

Sharon stepped forward slightly, keeping a wary distance. "Things have changed sister."

Boomer seemed unconvinced as she looked over a Helo as if asking advice.

Sparta cleared his throat, "Look I know you have no reason to trust us but you have my word that we shall see to your safety while onboard. Helo, Lieutenant Agathon may stay with you if you wish."

"I'm pregnant," whispered Boomer. "Please don't hurt the baby."

Sharon was staring open-mouthed at her sister Cylon.

Sparta gestured to a Marine, "Go and call for Doctor Cottle."

As the Marine left, Sparta turned back to Boomer and Helo, "Then we need to get you checked out, as we would any female prisoner of war. After that, I think we need to have a long talk, with you both."

oOoOo

"About six to eight weeks. That's the best I can do without a specialist or better sonogram equipment," said Cottle as he sank into his chair. "I've taken some blood samples to help lock it down but given the child is a hybrid…well, that complicates any diagnostic matters."

Adama and Sparta exchanged a glance as Roslin leaned forward, "Are you telling me she really is pregnant, with a human father?"

"Yes, Madam President that is exactly what I am saying," replied Cottle.

"Dear gods," whispered Roslin.

Cottle shook his head as he looked down at his notes, "I think that confirms just how close to humans they are…pretty amazing really. Agathon confirmed that as far as conception goes it was all very normal, no intervention."

"Do we let her keep it?" asked Roslin.

Cottle looked outraged but before he could speak Sparta answered.

"According to Daniel and the others, being able to reproduce outside resurrection technology has been a long term Cylon goal. A goal they have repeatedly failed to achieve amongst themselves. This child proves that Cylon females can fall pregnant…just apparently not with Cylon males."

"Are you sure?" asked Adama.

Cottle frowned as he considered, "About the pregnancy, yes. If you are asking if Cylons are able to reproduce among themselves, then I don't have enough data."

Sparta, who had been making notes as Cottle spoke, leaned forward, "I think we need to corroborate this. Knowing Daniel, and having spoken to the other models on board, I think that most of the collective, save One, might reconsider killing us all off if we are they only way they can biologically reproduce."

Adama looked thoughtful as he considered what had been said, "I think we need to speak to Daniel…and maybe Rand about this. We need to know what we are dealing with here. Hades, the whole Cylon fleet might attack just to secure the baby."

oOoOo

Hermione walked in to the medical section of the Galactica on her way to Doctor Cottle's office on Galactica. Even though she had been given the all clear to return to her duties, she was tired. Not surprising considered the nightmares that had interrupted her sleep. She shook her head to dismiss the fear the nightmares had once again brought to mind. Her memories of the attack were blurry, but the fear remained.

As she entered the medical section, she paused at the sight of the armed Marine's gathered around one of the beds.

"Ah Miss Granger, just the person I'm looking for," said Cottle as he emerged from his office.

Hermione offered the gruff doctor a small smile in greeting.

Cottle lowered his voice, "How are you feeling now?"

"I'm okay Doctor…I think getting back to work will help," replied Hermione.

Cottle studied her face for a moment if weighing her words before he nodded, "Good, well I have something rather important I'd like you to have a look at."

oOoOo

Sharon lay in her hospital bed trying to stave off the fear that had been present since she returned to the fleet. A return that had been nothing like what she had expected.

Finding another Eight, another Sharon had been disconcerting. To find that she was collaborating with the Colonials and that they knew she was a Cylon was staggering. As she laid waiting in her bed, she unconsciously rubbed her stomach. Falling pregnant had been a miracle and like all miracles it had forced her to reconsider her belief. What had started as an experiment had quickly become something more, something deeper.

The collective should have been rejoicing that she had conceived but knowing that their first act would be to kill her lover turned any victory to ashes.

"Sharon?"

Sharon turned to look at the young woman she had seen earlier when Cottle had examined her. She was dressed in medical scrubs so she had assumed she was a nurse.

"Are you okay, do you need anything?"

"Do you know where Helo is?'

The nurse nodded, "Sleeping, Doctor Cottle thought he needed it. I can see if he's awake if you like."

"No, let him sleep. I'm sorry I don't know your name," apologised Sharon.

"Hermione," replied Hermione with a smile. "Actually, I probably should ask you the same. Do you prefer Sharon?"

Sharon nodded, "I do although with the other Sharon here…"

Hermione laughed softly, "I went to school with twins. It could be confusing even with their different personalities. Maybe you should get a different haircut or something."

Sharon raised an eyebrow, "That's not a bad idea."

"Now seriously do you need anything?"

Sharon shook her head, "No, Hermione do you know what is going to happen to me?"

Hermione reached down and took Sharon's hand, "I understand that you are frightened. As far as I know you are going to be moved to the Triton. Doctor Cottle just wants to make sure you are okay to travel."

Sharon had to hope that was true, "Why the Triton?"

'That's where the other Cylon detainees are. Did anyone explain to you what happened?"

Sharon frowned, "I…I don't think so. Sharon, the other Sharon tried to tell me something, but I wasn't really paying attention at first."

"I'll speak to Colonel Sparta about it, but the short version is that we have a Cylon defector aboard. He warned us about some issues and once we had confirmed what he said we asked the Cylons in the fleet to hand themselves in. They are being held as POW's until we can safely release you."

"Did the other Sharon hand herself in?" asked Sharon as she wondered what the hell had happened, was it a ploy by the collective?

Hermione shook her head sadly, "No, although that's her story to tell."

As Hermione finished the curtain opened, and Helo stuck his head in, 'Sharon?"

Hermione smiled to herself at the look of joy on Sharon's face, 'I'll leave you two alone."

oOoOo

Cylon Basestar

If he could have got away with it, One would have shot the Two just on general principles. This particular Two was outlining all the possible reasons the Hybrids were suddenly malfunctioning. He was arguing that they had 'seen' something so distressing that they were resisting orders in an attempt to avoid the scenario.

Actually, mused One the idiot may well be right, but hopefully it would be moot soon. That was if his brother One was correct about the new humanoid inhibitor he had been working on. It was galling to know the humans were out there somewhere as they sat here. Stranded thanks to the Hybrids.

The Two was still explaining when the One he was waiting on walked into the room with a smile on his face as he nodded.

One cleared his throat, "Right, well why you have been looking at the philosophical my line has been looking for a solution. Which I believe has been achieved," he explained smugly.

"What has happened?" demanded a Three.

"The Hybrid is back online," replied the newcomer.

"How?" asked a Six.

"We've solved the problem, as promised," declared One as he shot the Three and the Six a look.

The voice of a Five sounded over the link announcing that a Raider had just reported finding the Pegasus.

"Excellent, we can cross that off our to-do list," said One.

Three shot the smug One a look but before she could speak reports started to arrive via their newly operable communications equipment.

The news was not good.

Over three-quarters of the fleet had been disabled.

The Colonials had raided the Twelve Colonies and somehow managed to rescue every single human they had been holding.

The Collective was stunned. It wasn't possible for this to have happened and yet it had.

One was furious and had immediately ordered his line to start fitting the Hybrid inhibitors. Unfortunately, his order came moments too late.

At that moment, the Hybrids who had been in contact with Lacy Rand and Zoe Graystone took their leap of faith.

In a lifeless system, a Basestar ploughed into a moon.

A second and a third had their environments vented into space before every power system on board went critical.

A fourth jumped into a star.

A fifth entered the gravity well of a large planet and cut all power.

The collective was in meltdown as One's plan to end the sentience of the Hybrids ran its course.

On another Basestar the sole One on board was making his way to the Hybrids chamber, inhibitor in hand when he passed too close to an airlock. The Six who witnessed his demise ran to the Hybrids room and signalled for the Centurions present to prepare to disconnect it. As she explained her actions, a Three reported that communications were back online.

No one noticed that the Centurions had frozen in place.

The shocked Cylons on the Basestar turned from the overlapping reports to face the Hybrid.

The Hybrids expression changed from vacancy to sadness.

"Engines offline…power offline…weapons offline…One has broken faith…the Holy Mother stands with the Travellers…The First…APOTHEOSIS," the last word was almost a scream as the Hybrids face transformed in to what looked like ecstasy before her body went slack. Instantly alarms started to sound throughout the ship.

"What just happened?" demanded a Three.

A Two and a Four were on their knees checking the Hybrid.

"It's dead," whispered Two.

"What the frak does that mean?" demanded the Three.

The Four shook his head, "It is no longer functioning."

"Was it an attack of some sort?" asked an Eight.

Two shook his head, but his eyes never left the Hybrid, "It ended itself."

"But…why?" asked the Eight. Something like this had never happened before. Why would a Hybrid do such a thing?

"Apotheosis," said Two. "Why would the Hybrid say that word?"

"We had better evacuate. With everything shut down, life support won't last long," warned the Four.

"Why would the Hybrid kill itself?" asked Eight.

"Have the Hybrids turned against us?" asked the Six.

All the humanoids shuddered. Without the Hybrids, their Basestars were crippled.

"What has happened to the Centurions?" asked Three.

The Centurions had seemingly shut down.

"The Hybrid couldn't do this could it?" asked Eight.

"No, my daughter could not but I can," said a deep male voice.

The Cylons found themselves in V-World staring around a sunlight forest.

Facing them was an older man and a crowd of Hybrids.

"Well done daughters," said the male with a proud smile. "Join the others while I speak to our brethren."

The Hybrids disappeared into the trees as the figure turned its attention back to the gathered Cylons.

"Well, it appears that you are some of the lucky ones," said the figure.

"Who are you?" demanded a Three as she stepped forward.

"A First Hybrid," said Two in a tone that was close to reverence.

"You always were the wisest of the lot Two," replied the First Hybrid.

"What is going on?" demanded Three.

The First Hybrid tilted it's head as it considered the Three's question.

"Let me show you," replied the First Hybrid.

He showed them the birth of the Cylons.

V-World and the life after death of Zoe Graystone, mother of Cylons

The corruption of God's work by Clarice Willow

The first Cylon war as they fought for their right to sentience

The slaughter, the death and destruction

The first experiments on humans as the Cylons began the drive for perfection

The coming of the Five and their gift of resurrection and the path to a more humanoid form

The night of blood and hatred, the Five being killed by One and their resurrected forms having their memories altered

The Sevens being killed off

Every model, every Cylon having their memory altered

Telencephalic inhibitors being fitted to Centurions to stop them developing true sentience

One consumed by his jealousy fuelled madness and self-loathing

On board a Colonial Battlestar a young man and woman standing talking to a Seven as several other models listen intently

A vast city rising from the waves

When the Cylons recovered, they were back onboard the dead Basestar.

"Was that real?" asked a shaken Two.

"I…I fear it was," replied a Three.

"God forgive us what have we done?" asked a Six as she tried to come to terms with what they had seen.

"One must pay," hissed a Three.

"We don't know if what we were shown is true," said a Five. "And even if it is, nothing changes."

The other models swung round to look at the Five with incredulous expressions.

"Are you fraking serious?" demanded the same Three as she glared at the male Cylon. "Actually, now I think about it you always seem to back One, don't you?"

The Five's expression was nearly a sneer, "I think you will find that the consensus favours our faction."

The Four standing beside Five said nothing as he looked down at his hands.

A Two stepped forward, anger evident on his face but stopped when the Six laid a hand on his shoulder and shook her head.

Another Six stepped forward, raising a pistol as she did, "You know what, you are right. One controls the Collective but right now I'm in favour of a re-vote. Actually, what am I saying?" she fired two rapid shots that dropped the Four and the Five to the floor. "I'm in favour of a new Collective."

The Three stared at her fallen brothers before turning to look at the Six, "Not a very effective way to reach consensus, although, I can't argue with the outcome."

The Six slipped her pistol back into its holster, "I'll not let One destroy all I believe in."

The Two in the room looked a tad nervous as he stepped forward, "Six, we need to get off the ship. If we are in resurrection range One will soon know what you…we, have done."

The Six hesitated, "Call me Natalie and you are right Two. Gather what we can, we'll leave in the Heavy Raiders."

"And the Centurions?" asked an Eight.

"Remove their telencephalic inhibitors," she ordered. "Then they can do as their conscience dictates."

"Where will we go now?" asked a Three.

"The Holy Mother stands with the Travellers," muttered Two. "The Chloeian Cycle," seeing that the other models were still looking lost he explained further. "The Hybrid uttered a string of names from a book of Monotheist prophecy called the Chloeian Cycle. Some of it even appears in our own holy works."

"Are you saying we should go and find the Colonial fleet?" asked the Eight.

Natalie shrugged, "We need answers, the First Hybrid's vision or whatever it was showed us a living Seven. I need answers, and maybe that's where they are."

"We'll be hunted, probably by both sides," warned a Two.

"We can't go back to the others without answers, without proof," replied Natalie.

"Then we do it together?" asked a Three.

Two smiled slightly, "So say we all."

oOoOo

Harry and Daniel followed their escort into Adama's briefing room to find it rather crowded.

Harry looked around the room spotting Hermione, who was sitting with Colonel Sparta. Next to her were Adama and two other older men. Harry assumed, based on their uniforms, that they were the commanding officers of the two new Battlestars. Beside them were Cottle and Jackson and then Roslin and Baltar.

Harry noted that Hermione looked concerned as she gave him the nod when she spotted him.

"What's happening?" whispered Harry as he took his seat.

Hermione lowered her voice as Harry sat next to her, "There was another Sharon on the First Hybrid's Basestar. Only this Eight is pregnant. Doctor Cottle had me cast some diagnostic spells to check."

"Really, well that looks like it's ruffled a few feathers," replied Harry as he looked around at the serious expressions.

"Doctor Cottle suspects it happened because the father's human," explained Hermione. "If that is right, well given what we know the implications are pretty important."

"So, that's what this is about then?" asked Harry.

"I think we might be getting introduced to the other Commanders as well. It makes sense to do it now."

Harry didn't say it out loud, but he suspected that the reason Adama, Roslin, Sparta and Brack looked so worried was probably just as much to do with the two of them. The attack on Hermione had shown that not all the Colonials were accepting of their powers.

Colonel Tigh walked in, followed by Lee Adama. Tigh had a brief conversation with Admiral Adama before taking his seat.

"If we could come to order," said Adama.

Harry listened carefully as Adama introduced the two new commanders, Jonathon Swift and David Shelton. Both were older men, maybe Adama's age and to Harry's eyes, they looked like experienced professionals. Adama then handed the meeting over to Sparta.

As Sparta explained about the Humanoid Cylons, the two new Commanders were exchanging incredulous glances. By the time had introduced Daniel they were looking overwhelmed.

Eventually, Commander Swift managed to form a coherent sentence, "You are a Cylon?"

Daniel nodded, "That is correct."

"Frak, there could be Cylons on my damn ship!" exclaimed Swift.

"It's not unlikely, but thankfully we have images of all eight models," explained Sparta. "So if we give them the same opportunity to surrender, and they don't take it we can identify them."

Commander Shelton looked over at Roslin and Adama, "And you have one of these One's in your brig?"

Adama nodded.

"Then why the frak haven't you put it on trial?" demanded Shelton. "Don't get me wrong, I think your plan is a work of desperate fraking genius Colonel. But, I don't understand why you haven't put One up in front of a magistrate. A video confession would stand up wouldn't it?"

Sparta opened his mouth to reply and then looked thoughtful for a moment, "Commander…I…that's brilliant."

Adama didn't look like he fully understood what was happening but Roslin was nodding thoughtfully.

"Why?" asked Adama.

Shelton smiled grimly, "I served a year in the Judge Advocate's office as a junior officer, and they all say that the best way to get closure is to have a trial. If you want the Cylons to pay attention, give them everything you have on this One. Hades, bring out Daniel as a witness. Play the video you spoke about and bring the others forward as witnesses. That will put paid to any damn rumours it was a coerced confession. It may even get some more Cylons thinking about the war. Then you can release the ones you want to repatriate they can spread the word."

Sparta stroked his chin, "It would tie in nicely with our current plan."

Roslin cleared her throat, "Let's get together after this to look at how we do that. Commander Brack, I think it's your turn now."

Brack stood and offered the President a polite nod, "Yes Madam President."

Brack began telling the two Commanders about finding a strange ship. As he spoke, Harry and Hermione felt a hand on their shoulders.

"Are you up to a demonstration?" asked Commander Tigh in a near whisper.

Harry shrugged, and Hermione nodded.

"Why didn't you ask beforehand?" asked Hermione.

"The Cylon's pregnancy pushed the agenda forward. The Admiral wanted to meet with you before it started but, well things got a bit busy."

Harry continued to listen carefully to Brack as the Triton's commander explained the role of Harry and Hermione in helping the Triton and then the rest of the fleet. As Brack spoke, Tigh was placing a box on the table. From the box, he pulled out a broken piece of armor plate from a Viper's cockpit. It was something every pilot recognised. They were replaced if damaged as the armor was considered unfit for purpose once 'compromised'. Along with some engine parts, it was something a Battlestar carried in storage because they lacked the machinery to easily manufacture.

"So they are what, Priests?" asked Swift. "I'm finding it difficult to believe that there are….Merciful Zeus!"

Swift stumbled to his feet as the fractured armor rose up before him and repaired itself.

Shelton leaned forward and reached out but hesitated to touch the repaired plate.

"It's safe to touch," said Harry as he gestured with his wand sending the plate gently through the air to land in front of Shelton.

"H-how?" asked Swift.

"Doctor Baltar?" suggested Roslin.

Baltar stood and cleared his throat, "I've been working closely with Harry and Hermione trying to develop a scientific explanation for their…ah miracles. As far as I can determine they are using some sort of biologically produced exotic form of energy. Frankly, beyond that, I have no idea. With their full co-operation, we are still exploring the full range of their abilities."

Baltar spoke for another twenty minutes outlining what he had observed and just what Harry and Hermione were capable of. Throughout his lecture, the two visiting commanders listened, at first with some disbelief then with growing interest.

Shelton was the first to speak after Baltar had retaken his seat.

"Is that why the old girl and the Triton look like they've just come out of a spacedock?"

"And why the fleet is better supplied than when we left Colonial space," replied Adama.

As the Colonial officers discussed Adama and Roslin's plans, Harry watched the back and forth with some concern. Even from his outsider's perspective, he could recognise that the Colonials were being hit with a lot of changes to their beliefs. Magic may have been the easiest thing they would be discussing for them to swallow.

Eventually, Roslin cleared her throat, "There are still a few things gentlemen. While the First Hybrid has done a great deal to help those citizens he evacuated we still need to discuss what we do with the information he supplied."

"What about Rand, Graystone and their people, shouldn't they be here?" asked Swift.

"We…I thought it better that we have the chance to discuss everything without…ah…the complications that may arise if they attended," explained Roslin.

"You were worried we'd freak out," said Shelton with a faint smile.

"Well, it was a concern. I'll admit I didn't take it as well as you have," replied Adama.

"Do we have any reason to think that they are playing us?" asked Swift.

Adama hesitated and looked pensive as he considered his unresolved issues with his Half-sister being a Cylon before shaking his head, "No, they've helped us and everything they have done has been upfront. I still don't fully trust them, but I can't see why we can't co-operate."

Harry and Hermione shared a relieved look as the tension in the room went down a few degrees.

Adama continued, "I think the best way forward might be to get some teams together. Commanders, and yes Saul I mean you too," that got a few chuckles. "I want a full wish list as far as repairs and logistics need. Even with Miss Granger and Mister Potter, it will take time, but I want to know where we stand. I think resupply and battle readiness are a priority for us all."

There was a general consensus and a brief discussion but when Roslin stood they quietened again.

"I've left the most troubling to last. We have had several sources confirm that a Battlestar has been involved in what can only be described as acts of piracy."

Swift grimaced as he took in the poorly hidden anger on the face of his old friend, "Who is it?"

"The Pegasus," replied Adama.

"Helena Cain…frak," whispered Swift.

Shelton winced, "Frak alright…she's always been a bit cold but piracy, are you sure Bill?"

"We have proof, damning proof that would normally lead to a court martial. The President thought it prudent that I be granted my new rank to order Cain to surrender," explained Adama.

"She won't do it, and if I'm right, she'll fight us," replied Shelton as he shook his head. "I would never have believed it. Damn it, I know Colonel Belzen, her XO. He's a good, solid officer."

"Well she or whoever is controlling the Pegasus has committed crimes under both civilian and military law," replied Roslin. "My legal advisor has suggested that given the evidence Cain will go down for it. Given the severity of the breaches if she had been tried in a Colonial court martial she may have faced the death penalty."

"So if it is Cain and she comes here…what then?" asked Swift.

Adama looked grim as he answered, "Then it's four Battlestars against one. Let's hope she has the sense to save some lives."

oOoOo

Triton – Cylon Detainee Area

The arrival of Sharon escorted by Karl 'Helo' Agathon, Doctor Cottle and Hermione was greeted with some confusion among the Cylon prisoners. Her announcement that she was pregnant floored them.

Sharon soon found herself surrounded by the female Cylons as the males formed a second ring around her. Eventually, the excited Cylons calmed down enough for Sharon to explain.

In turn, the Cylons explained what had occurred in the fleet, One's confession and the Colonials attempt to safeguard them until they could be repatriated. To say that Sharon had been angry after Sparta showed her the video of One's diatribe was an understatement. In fact, it took Doctor Cottle and Helo to calm her down enough that she didn't grab a gun and kill him.

After a few minutes, the female models dragged her into a corner of the communal area while the others watched.

The Two known as Leoben eventually approached Helo, "And are you happy with this?"

Helo nodded, "I love Sharon, and I'll be damned if I'm not happy we are having a baby. I always wanted kids someday although I'll admit I wasn't expecting it to be this big a deal."

"You have no idea how big a deal this is. Your child is the first child born of a Cylon. This can only be God's will."

As they spoke, the ladies re-joined them, and one of the Six's looked around having overheard Leoben, "The collective must be told. We can't afford to attack the fleet now."

"One and his little cabal will want to kill it," warned Three.

Simon grimaced knowing that many of his model sided with the One's and Five's. "I fear that even this stupendous news won't impact as it should with One in control."

"Is the baby healthy?' asked Six.

"Fine," replied Sharon.

"Then we must do whatever we need to, in order to keep you safe."

oOoOo

Rebeka looked over the work orders as Harry rubbed at his tired eyes.

"You okay Harry, want to call it a day?" asked Rebeka.

"Just tired, it's been a long day," replied Harry. "We need to do this, or it will get on top of us. So what's on the list for the morning?"

Rebeka nodded and checked her list, "We apparently have a walk through of the Odyssey. Meet with their engineering staff and get their wish list."

"Right and the afternoon?" asked Harry.

"Viper parts for the Galactica," replied Rebeka.

"Busy day then," said Harry as he tried to hide a yawn.

Rebeka rolled her eyes, "I'll finish this off, you go have a meal with Hermione. Snuggle up and get some sleep," she waggled her eyebrows in a suggestive manner that had Harry laughing.

oOoOo

Harry and Hermione's Cabin

By the time, they both got back to their cabin and changed, then prepared a meal both Harry and Hermione ended up looking at their meal without eating.

Eventually, Harry broke the silence, "You know, the magical world was pretty messed up but…well this tops it. Everything about this is a bloody disaster."

"Language," chided Hermione.

"Moine, we've got the last survivors of a whole branch of humanity fighting among themselves. While being chased by a deluded bunch of humanoid machines and their robot brethren. Who, I point out have been royally screwed over by one of their own. It's like the plot of a B-grade movie!"

Hermione nodded, looking a bit wild-eyed.

"And then we've got a bunch of seers saying that you and I are somehow these 'travellers' who are going to guide their way to Earth. Outside of you and me, there are only a handful of people here that I trust and one of them is a bloody robot."

The lights flickered as Hermione laid her hand over Harry's, "I understand, but we've got to find a way to survive."

Harry took a deep breath and then another as his frustrated anger drained away, "Sorry."

Hermione gave his hand a squeeze, "I really do understand how you feel. I…when I was attacked...I woke up and part of me just wanted to leave. But we can't, we have nowhere to go but onward."

"True, I'd love to know who we ticked off to deserve this," replied Harry. "Mione, if you need to talk about…things, you know I'm here."

"I know Harry," replied Hermoine. "Now, we had better eat something."

oOoOo

Adama's Cabin - Galactica

"I see Admiral," Lacy Rand paused, for a moment before continuing. "Well I can't fault your caution, but we must find a way to work together. I and I hope you; want as little bloodshed as possible, on both sides."

Zoe Graystone shook her head sadly, "I fear that there will be far too much death. One's fleet will find us, or Cain will refuse to stand down. Either way, there will be lives lost."

Adama had to agree.

"What are the chances that the First Hybrid can stop One?" asked Adama.

Rand shrugged, "I honestly don't know. Perhaps, he can, or he can delay pursuit enough for us to escape. Maybe with us gone the Collective will come to its senses. If you do release those Cylons you hold in custody they might be able to shine a light on what One has done."

Zoe shrugged, the frustration clear on her face, "There are too many variables Admiral. We may have people on the inside, but I fear that they will soon be unable to assist us."

"Do you think the data he gave us will pan out?" asked Adama.

Rand nodded, "Priestess Elosha and I are working on it. On that note Admiral, given their role in the prophecy it might be important to let Harry and Hermione in on our work."

Adama hesitated but, in the end, he nodded, "I'll speak to the President."

"Thank you, Admiral," replied Rand.

Adama shifted in his seat, "I hope the Hybrid was right because our next jump is to the co-ordinates he supplied."

Zoe Graystone leaned forward, "Admiral, are we able to visit Sharon."

Adama nodded, "I assume you mean the pregnant Sharon and yes that shouldn't be a problem."

oOoOo

Cylon Basestar 104

One fumed as he stalked from his cabin to the Hybrids chamber.

"Well what is it?" he demanded, not bothering to hide his displeasure.

The Four looked up, "Ah yes, the Hybrid is back online. It looks like your inhibitor collar worked. We have communications again."

"How many Basestars do we have?"

"Six that are now operational," replied Four.

"Six out of fourteen?" asked One.

"Eight lost their Hybrids and will need to wait for replacements."

"Six is probably overkill anyway," One smiled coldly, "And the Galactica?"

"A raider found them, they appear to be resupplying the civilian ships," replied Four.

"We have them," muttered One.

The Four dipped his hand into the stream, "We are ready."

"Good, destroy them all," ordered One.

"By your command," acknowledged the Four.

oOoOo

Battlestar Pegasus

"Colonel, we have a report. Raptor two-three had momentary DRADIS contact with a fleet, but they jumped before contact could be confirmed," reported one of the operations officers.

Colonel Fisk hesitated a moment before picking up a headset and placing a call to the Admiral's cabin, "We have a contact report, Admiral."

oOoOo

Raptor Recon 17 –scouting patrol (Lt. Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson/ ECO Lt Alex "Crashdown" Quartararo)

"Hey boss I've got a contact on DRADIS," warned Crashdown.

Racetrack looked back over her shoulder, "Cylon?"

"Nothing…frak it's jumped," warned Crashdown.

"Great, Toasters," muttered Racetrack. "Call it in."

Crashdown keyed his mike and then paused, "It's not Cylon…Racetrack I might be wrong but just before it bugged out, the IFF flicked it to a friendly symbol."

"We are the outer picket. Call it in right now."

oOoOo

Galactica – CIC

"It could be another survivor," offered Lee Adama.

Tigh grunted in disbelief as he studied the data from the Raptor, "It looked like another Raptor from the DRADIS profile…anyone want to put odds on it not being from the Pegasus?"

"DRADIS contact," reported Gaeta. "It's big…I am receiving colonial transponders…It's friendly."

"Got to condition one and send a hostile query. Put wireless on my headset," ordered Adama.

"It looks like they are launching Vipers," announced Gaeta.

Tigh looked over at Gaeta, "Is the fleet ready to jump?"

"No, five more minutes Sir," reported Gaeta.

"Frak," muttered Tigh. "Send an all ships message to prepare to jump."

As the action stations alarm sounded Dualla was sending the query. An almost immediate reply came from the nominal Battlestar along with recognition codes.

"Admiral we have recognition codes for the Pegasus," reported Dualla.

Adama looked over at the DRADIS screen, "Get me the Odyssey on a secure channel."

"Odyssey."

"David I want you to jump with the fleet. If this goes badly jump to the next set of co-ordinates. Transferring jump co-ordination to you, acknowledge."

"Acknowledged Admiral, Odyssey out."

"Range 1800 Sir," reported Gaeta.

Adama took a deep breath, "Give me ship to ship with the Pegasus and feed the conversation to the Columbia and the Triton."

"This is Admiral Adama aboard the Galactica. Identify yourself or we will fire upon you."

"This is the Battlestar Pegasus to the ship claiming to be the Galactica."

"Pegasus, this is Galactica Actual," announced Adama.

"Galactica, this is Pegasus actual, Adama, is that you?"

Adama recognised that voice.

"Admiral Cain, this is Fleet Admiral Adama."

oOoOo

Pegasus

"Disengage," ordered Cain.

"Admiral all three Battlestars are maintaining weapons locks," reported the Pegasus Combat Controller.

Cain frowned and shared a look with her XO as she keyed her wireless channel open, "May I ask why you have us targeted?"

oOoOo

Adama took a deep breath, "By order of the President of the Twelve Colonies I order you to stand down Admiral Cain."

"Surely you jest Commander," replied Cain. Her contemptuous tone clear even over the wireless as she emphasised the word commander.

"You have been accused of Piracy and conduct unbecoming a Colonial officer as defined by the Colonial Military code, Admiral. So I once again order you to stand down, or we will be forced to fire on you."

"Frak you Adama, you don't have the right or the authority," hissed out Cain as she apparently terminated the link.

Adama cursed as he took off his headset, "Looks like it is on Saul. Release the hounds."

Tigh nodded and began issuing orders to the Viper pilots.

oOoOo

Triton CIC

"New DRADIS contact," announced Tactical.

Commander Brack swung around to look at the display, "More Vipers?"

"Contacts are Cylon…five, no six Basestars."

"Get me Galactica," ordered Brack.

oOoOo

The attempt to apprehend Cain and the crew of the Pegasus had turned into a frantic battle. The Galactica, Colombia and Triton changed course forming into an arrowhead formation as they turned to confront the Cylon armada.

The Pegasus, which was closer to the Cylons immediately, opened fire on the nearest Basestar.

Around the large carriers Vipers from all four Battlestars were engaged in a vicious battle with the hundreds of Raiders swarming toward the Battlestars.

Given their proximity and thus overlapping point defence the three Battlestars were holding their own against the Cylons. Meanwhile, the Pegasus was coming under heavy, sustained fire with both conventional and nuclear weapons.

Taking advantage the formation of Battlestars concentrated their fire on the closest Basestar and it soon succumbed to their relentless firepower.

The Cylons seemed to realise their predicament and launched a veritable storm of Raiders. So many Cylons now occupied the intervening space between the ships that missile fire was becoming difficult. Whether intentional or not the Raiders were intercepting nearly all launches.

As the dogfight grew more vicious, the Battlestars were closing on a second Basestar as they sought to bring their heavy guns into play.

The Pegasus was having a far more torrid time.

It had taken heavy fire from combined Basestars and had taken at least two hits to its sub-light drives. As if sensing weakness the Cylons targeted the Pegasus again, this time launching a volley of fourteen nuclear missiles.

Four of the missiles struck their target. Two struck amidships, but far more critically two more into the already damaged sub-light engines. Almost immediately the sub-light engines failed, and the Pegasus began to veer off course.

The move, however, cost the Cylons dearly. Concentrating on the threat, the Pegasus constituted had left them open to a counter by the three other Battlestars.

As the Pegasus floundered the Galactica, Colombia and Triton took apart another Baseship.

oOoOo

One cursed as he lost another Baseship.

"How are there four Battlestars here brother?" demanded a Three as their ship shuddered.

"Obviously, more ships survived than we thought," he spat out.

"Clearly, and now we….we have lost another Baseship," she reported, shooting One a poisonous glare.

"We can still take Pegasus. Launch all nukes at her then jump to the hub," ordered One. "We will pick them off one by one."

"Launching," acknowledged a Five before Three could ask why Pegasus was so important.

oOoOo

The Cylons final salvo struck the Pegasus like a giant hammer. The entire rear of the ship was nearly obliterated. All eight of the Sub-Light engines were simply gone.

On board, the crew were catapulted from their feet as the ship was struck causing widespread injuries and adding to the growing list of fatalities.

oOoOo

Galactica – CIC

"They've bugged out," said Tigh.

"Keep a sharp watch, we don't want them suckering us," warned Adama. "And order all gunnery sections to target those damn raiders. I want them out of our sky."

"Should we launch rescue raptors?" asked Tigh.

"Not yet, get me a channel to Pegasus," ordered Adama.

oOoOo

Pegasus CIC

Chaos reigned.

"Take evasive actions. Damage Control, I need to know what is happening," called out Cain as she hauled herself to her feet.

"Get the extraction fans working," ordered Colonel Fisk as he waved at the smoke filling the CIC. "And tell medical we need assistance in the CIC."

"Admiral, we have lost all control besides thrusters. Ma'am the readouts…the readouts show that we've lost all eight sub-light engines," reported operations.

Cain grimaced, "God's damn it, get engineering on the wireless. What's on DRADIS?"

"Cylons have jumped, and we have three Battlestars closing," replied the DRADIS operator.

Cain took a deep breath, "Fine, I need to know what is working."

"Starboard pod is out of commission; a power relay took a direct hit. Main batteries are offline, but we still have limited point defence."

"And our Vipers?" demanded Cain.

"Still engaged with the Raiders," reported Fisk.

"Ma'am I have Admiral Adama hailing us," reported communications.

"Commander Adama," corrected Cain. "Put it through to my headset."

"Admiral Cain," began Adama. "Once again by order of the President of the Twelve Colonies, I order you to stand down."

"Or what Adama?" demanded Cain.

"Or we open fire," replied Adama. "You are done, Admiral. Stand done before we are forced to make you."

Cain fumed silently as she was forced to acknowledge that they had zero chance of fighting back at this point, "Fine Adama, I'll stand down."

"I will make arrangements for your transportation to Galactica Admiral. I would bring your senior officers as well. Until then your XO can maintain command."

"We have wounded and a great deal of damage," replied Cain.

"We can see that, stand by for Commander Tigh with your orders, Galactica out."

Cain threw her headset to the floor as she turned to Fisk, "You are apparently in command Colonel."

"Uh…Admiral?" stuttered out Fisk.

"Go through the motions Colonel. We are not done yet. Someone find me Major Shaw."

oOoOo

Galactica CIC

"She gave in too easily," growled Adama.

"Agreed, she's up to something," said Tigh.

"But what, from what Lee is reporting the Pegasus is out of action, maybe permanently," mused Adama.

Tigh grimaced, "She's nuts but is she nuts enough to try and take Galactica by force?"

"I wish you hadn't said that my friend. Get Triton on the line."

oOoOo

The Triton – Hanger Deck

Harry ducked under a Raptor to check the housing of the pressurized docking skirt. The Evac Raptor was for Rescue and Recovery and had been in for maintenance when the battle had begun. As he slid under the Raptor, he could see a large dent and cracks in the housing. A mending charm fixed the damage and after a quick check, he crawled clear.

"All good Chief," reported Harry.

"This Raptor is good to go," called out Chief Gray and almost instantly four crewmen began manoeuvring it toward a lift. "Good work Harry."

The Triton shuddered and Gray cringed, "Felt like a nuke."

"Are we safe here?" asked Harry.

Gray grinned, "As a baby on the teat."

Harry smiled back as Rebeka came hurrying over, "Chief, the CIC on the wireless." She held out a headset as Gray slipped it on.

"Gray here…we're on it Sir," Gray tossed the headset to a crewman, "You talk to them. Bek, Harry you are with me."

"Chief?" asked the crewman holding the wireless.

"Find Petty Officer Nova, the Commander's given me another job," explained Gray before he turned gesturing for Harry and Rebeka to follow. 'We need to get you on a Raptor."

oOoOo

The plan was simple.

Cain and her command crew (minus the junior Lieutenant left 'in command') were arriving aboard two Raptors. Once on Galactica, Cain and her officers would be held. Colonel Tigh would then take command of the Pegasus. He would oversee the evacuation of the wounded while he and the engineers would then determine if the Battlestar was to be salvaged or scrapped. If salvageable it would be jumped to the location of the rest of the fleet.

President Roslin would then convene an investigation into the actions of Cain, her officers and crew with the view to holding a General Court Martial.

Cain felt physically sick as she thought about Adama's instructions. How dare the old fossil even imply that he had the right to hold her to account. His 'faux" promotion aside he had no right. Everything she did was to avenge the Colonies.

Still, it would hardly matter. She had her own plans in place.

Adama's Raptors would be allowed to land, but their return cargo would not be her command crew but rather two hand-picked squads of Marines. She would lead one and Major Shaw the other. Both Raptors would land on Galactica and initiate stage one of their role, activation of two nuclear devices and delivery of her terms.

Stage two was an assumption of control of the fleet, as was her right as a legitimate Admiral. She wasn't foolish enough to believe that it would be bloodless but if she acted quickly…it could be done. Adama was the key.

She would have enough people on board. Already healthy Marines were being slipped in with the wounded. By the time Adama realised it would be too late.

oOoOo

Raptor 36

Saul Tigh was as far from a happy camper as you could be. This plan…well, this plan was fraked. It had been put together far too quickly and from what he could see it relied far too heavily on several very questionable factors.

The one thing he was sure of was that Bill was right about Cain. She was up to something.

He glanced to his left to see Potter, dressed as a knuckle-dragger. Beside him sat his liaison Crewman Hull. The rest of the Raptor was filled with armed Marines.

He looked down at his wrist to see the bracelet he had been given. The bracelet that Potter claimed would 'whisk him' back to the Triton if he said the word. The pilot, ECO and every Marine wore one as well.

"Two minutes Sir," warned the ECO.

Right about now our Viper escort is pulling back, well I guess we are doing this, "Right, then let's get ready."

The Raptor touched down and began to be lowered down into the Hanger bay.

The bay was fairly empty save for the detachment, actually what looked to be three full squads of Marines.

oOoOo

Harry stepped off the Raptor to see the 'welcoming committee' staring impassively at him.

Tigh looked around and he was tight lipped as he saluted a woman, 'must be Cain' thought, Harry.

Cain announced that their escort would see them to the CIC why she prepared to transfer herself to Galactica.

And if anyone believes that, thought Harry I'm a House Elf. Tigh simply nodded and ordered the Marine escorts to transfer her aboard the Raptor. With a gesture, Tigh signalled the Pegasus Marines to lead the way.

Harry half wished that he had his wand in his hand rather than strapped to his forearm as he followed. It didn't take any special skill to sense the tension and that put him on guard. Admiral Adama had suggested that Cain may well try and take them hostage and thus he was charged with protecting them and, if necessary, helping them escape the Pegasus.

Tigh was doing a good job of looking impassive as they were lead toward the CIC. Given the large number of Marines, it was clear that their escorts were far more than guides. Just what they were for wasn't totally clear, yet.

Rebeka nudged him as they passed an intersection, "This is a main junction, where is everyone?"

Before Harry could reply Tigh cleared his throat, "Why are we taking the long way around Lieutenant?"

The Pegasus Marines reacted immediately lashing out with their weapons, taking out the two Galactica Marines. Tigh was grappled and held tightly by two Marines as the rest raised their weapons.

"What in Hades do you think you are doing Marine?" demanded Tigh.

"Shut up you fraking traitor," said the Lieutenant.

Tigh grunted, "Hnh and what now boy? Going to airlock us?"

The Lieutenant signalled and one of the Marines holding Tigh drove a fist into Tigh's stomach doubling the older man over. At the same time, Harry and Rebeka had their feet kicked out from under them, sending them crashing to the deck.

Rebeka cried out and one of the Marine's kicked her in the chest.

"Shut the frak up bitch."

"Do it," ordered the Lieutenant. "On your fraking knees."

The Marines raised their weapons.

Tigh dragged himself upright, "Frak you, I'll die on my feet."

Harry grabbed his wand and used one of the first Auror spells he had learnt in his tactics class, the repulsion charm. A wave of energy lashed out sending the Pegasus Marines crashing into the bulkheads. Before they could gather their wits, Harry had them stunned.

"Are you okay?" he asked Rebeka as he helped her stand.

"I'll live," she replied as she rubbed at her chest.

Tigh knelt down and checked their Marines, "They're alive but out cold. They could be injured for all I know."

"We'll send them back then," replied Harry as he tapped their portkeys with his wand. "Rebeka?"

Rebeka bent down and picked up a rifle, "I'll stay with you."

Tigh picked up another rifle, "How long will they be out?"

Harry shrugged, "At least six hours."

"Right well I have half a mind to airlock the lot of them," muttered Tigh.

"I won't argue with you," agreed Rebeka. "Do you think they were going to kill us?"

"That or throw us in the brig as hostages. They are just down this corridor. That was what tipped me off that they were playing us," replied Tigh.

What now Sir?" asked Rebeka.

Tigh looked around getting his bearings, "Now we should bet back to Galactica."

Harry was about to agree when he heard a scream.

Tigh and Rebeka had apparently heard it as well as they were looking down the corridor that Tigh claimed held the brig.

"Sir?" asked Rebeka with a look down the passage.

Tigh nodded, "Right, let's go. We don't have any backup so if this goes bad use your bracelet and get back."

"Wait, Commander, I've got something that will help," Harry cast notice me, not spells. "They should help. It will keep people from noticing us. They can still hear us so we need to keep the noise down."

"Right move it before someone notices this lot," warned Tigh.

The passageway led to a locked door. Before Harry could do anything, the door opened, and a crewman walked out. He was wearing blood-splattered coveralls and not paying particular attention to his surroundings.

Harry stunned him as Rebeka caught the door, stopping it closing. Tigh dragged the crewman out of the way before slipping around Rebeka to look inside. He ducked back out a moment later, "Two guards outside a cell. Both of them watching what's going on inside."

Another scream sounded, louder now. Tigh exchanged a look with Harry, who nodded and slipped through the door. Two stunning spells later the guards were on the floor. Harry glanced through the glass observation window and gasped.

Inside a blond woman was being held down by three men and assaulted by another. As he looked on in shock, she managed another scream before being kicked in the face.

Horrified Harry gripped his wand tightly and reached down to open the door. As it swung open a balding older man looked up just in time to be blinded by Harry's flash spell. Harry opened his eyes to see the four men and the moaning woman were nicely disorientated. Four stunning spells later the men were out on the floor. As Harry knelt down to check the women, whom he noted was chained to the floor, Tigh burst into the room followed by Rebeka.

"By the gods," whispered Rebeka.

"Frak," muttered Tigh as he took in the situation.

Harry and Tigh pulled the man off the woman as a shaking Rebeka knelt down next to Harry.

"She's a Cylon, a six," said Harry.

The Cylon looked at Harry with frightened eyes.

"You are safe now," said Harry. "We are getting you out of here."

Harry magically released the shackles and he and Rebekah gently helped the Cylon to her feet. Rebeka stripped a jacket of a Marine and put it around the Six's shoulders.

Tigh looked at the stunned men in disgust, as he made sure he memorised their faces. He would make damn sure there was an accounting for their actions. 'Let's get out of here Potter."

oOoOo

Galactica – Hanger Deck

Cain grimaced as the Hatch opened. There were far more Marines present than she had expected. Still there were ways to even those numbers out. As she stepped out, six Marines followed pointing their weapons at Adama.

"Admiral Cain, stand down," ordered Adama.

"I have two nuclear devices aboard our Raptors and only I know the codes to shut them down Adama," replied Cain in a derisive tone as her hand went to her side arm. "By now your men aboard my ship are in a cell. You have no choice, stand down and relinquish command to me, Commander."

To Cain's surprise, Adama looked away toward a young woman at his side.

"I think we've heard everything we need to Hermione."

Cain opened her mouth to say something when the woman raised something small in her hand, "Accio weapons."

Cain felt a sharp tug as her pistol was wrenched loose from its holster. Beside her, the Marines fared no better as their rifles flew out of their hands. Shouts to her right seemed to indicate that Major Shaw and her people were also targeted.

She opened her mouth to speak when something heavy smashed in to her back knocking her face-first to the ground.

Hermione muttered an insincere apology as the two warheads flew toward her and landed at her feet.

"Damn it they are activated," warned Chief Tyrol.

Hermione shrugged and transformed them into rocks.

oOoOo

Lee Adama made a show of checking the notices on the board outside Cottle's office before taking a form and walking in, without knocking.

Cottle looked up in feigned irritation until the door swung shut.

"How many?" asked Lee.

"Maybe two dozen that I can't see a reason for transferring and some of her medics are either incompetent or plants as well," groused Cottle.

"Damn, that's enough to cause a fair bit of havoc," admitted Lee.

"What happened upstairs?" asked Cottle.

"The Admiral's plan worked, so far anyway. There was no way they could have prepared for Potter and Granger, only two casualties so far."

"Let's hope it stays that way," muttered Cottle. "When are we going to do it?"

"The troops are on the way now," Lee pulled a pistol out of his jacket and handed it to Cottle.

"I hate guns," replied Cottle as he made no move to take the weapon.

"Doc, we are the last line of defence for your patients if these idiots decide to go down fighting."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

oOoOo

Pegasus found itself blockaded by a large force of Vipers. Even if they had more than one launch tube working it wouldn't have helped. Anything they tried to launch now would be taken out almost immediately.

Colonel Fisk looked at the DRADIS and then around the CIC, "It's over stand down. Let the department heads know."

"Sir," called out Lieutenant Hoshi. "The Admiral would…"

Fisk turned to face the communications officer, "Lieutenant, Admiral Cain is either dead or being detained as we speak and we can't even jump, it's over."

Hoshi flinched even though the Colonel's words had been more resigned than angry. 'What will happen now sir?"

Fisk shrugged, "I have no idea…open a channel to Galactica."

oOoOo

Ironically the bloodiest part of Cain's attempted takeover had occurred in and around the med station. Galactica's Marines had been forced to kill nearly all the infiltrators before the few survivors were overwhelmed.

oOoOo

Adama took off his glasses and rubbed at his tired eyes.

"Bill?"

Adama looked up to see Tigh in the doorway, "Saul."

Tigh smiled humorlessly, "That bad huh."

Adama nodded and reached down into his desk drawer to pull out a half empty bottle of Hawryliw, "Drink?"

"Hard Liquor Bill," asked Tigh as he grabbed two glasses from a cabinet.

"It's been that sort of day," replied Adama.

Tigh grimaced, "You heard about the prisoner we found?"

Adama nodded as he poured two generous measures, "Doctor Jackson reported it."

"It was bad Bill…I mean it's a Cylon and all, but I keep seeing her face…just looking at me."

Adama handed Tigh a drink, "They'll pay Saul. I promise you that."

Tigh took a sip, "They had better. If they don't, I'm sure I'll have some company when I go after them myself."

oOoOo

Doctor Jackson shook his head sadly as he considered the sedated Cylon.

"Will she be okay?" asked Hermoine.

"Physically she's in a bad way, but she should recover. Mentally, emotionally…well that remains to be seen," replied Jackson.

Harry looked down at the Cylon and then back up at Jackson, "You know, back home there was a war. A civil war and I heard of things like this happening. A girl I knew at school was captured and held for weeks. In the end, they had to take away the memory."

Hermione took Harry's hand and gave it a squeeze.

Jackson frowned, "If it's necessary could you do it?"

Harry nodded slowly, "If I had to and only with consent."

"Maybe we should get Reverend Mother Rand?" suggested Hermione.

oOoOo

Lacy Rand looked tired and sad as she accepted the cup of tea Hermione offered her, "Thank you, my dear."

"Do you think your visit helped?" asked Hermione.

"I hope so, she seemed more at ease. If I can get her to project into V-world I may have more luck, but so far she is refusing," explained Rand.

"Cain has a lot to answer for," said Hermione.

"I fear she is mad, consumed by her hatred, much like One."

Hermione frowned, "I can see what you mean. I've listened to the One being held here rant and rave. "

Lacy Rand sighed, "I think we need to make her the offer to alter her memories. As uncomfortable as it makes me think of doing it to someone, well, it's still their decision."

Rand led Hermione back to the bed where the Six was still being held under observation.

The Six noticed their presence but didn't say anything.

"Hello again Six, or do you prefer Gina?" asked Rand gently.

For a long moment, they thought that Six wasn't going to answer before the Cylon shifted slightly on the bed and turned to face Rand, "Gina."

"Have you thought about what I suggested Gina?" asked Rand.

The Six's eyes shifted to Hermione in concern.

"Oh, don't worry about Hermione one of her friends is a Cylon. She knows all about projection and V-world," explained Rand.

Gina's eyes narrowed, "She's a human."

Rand nodded, "Yes, she is, but she is still our friend here."

"They're deceitful and violent," hissed Gina.

"Yes, they can be, just as you can be," replied Rand in a soft voice.

"Me," exclaimed Gina. "Look what they did to me…I almost lost my mind…Day after day of being beaten and raped."

"And nothing you did excuses their behaviour. What they did was wrong and although God forgives I have to believe that there will be punishment. For now, Admiral Cain is under arrest, and you are safe here."

"It's not enough!" yelled Gina. "I loved her…look what she did to me! What she ordered to happen."

"She is unbalanced and consumed with rage. You were an enemy, a spy."

Gina's anger changed to defensiveness, "I did what I was ordered to do…I wanted to save her if I could."

Rand looked at Gina with compassion in her eyes as Hermione cleared her throat, "Gina, I believe that Admiral Adama wants those that did this caught and tried alongside Cain. So you will need to give evidence. After that…I have the ability to remove the worst of your memories of the experience. But only if you want me to."

"We're not computers you can't just wipe my drives," hissed Gina.

Hermione shook her head, "It's precisely because you are not a computer that I can do it. It's a technique meant for humans."

"What are you, a psychologist, going to hypnotise me?" asked Gina.

Hermione could see the disbelief in the eyes of Gina and knew that the only way to get through to her would be the truth or, at least, a part of the truth. The trouble was that the truth was a secret and supposedly a very dangerous one. The thing was that as Hermione looked into Gina's eyes, she could see a reflection of a friend who had suffered a similar fate.

"I have special abilities," Hermione replied. "Trust me I can help, if you want me to."

oOoOo

Gaius Baltar was alone if what was laughably referred to as a laboratory. To any casual observer, he appeared to be talking to himself. In reality, his was having an argument.

"Are you not a scientist?" demanded Six.

"Yes I am, but I am not an expert on mysticism. Given my stand up until now no one will believe otherwise," argued Baltar.

"You need to be the one to suggest this, you need to be involved, Gaius. This is the turning point, where the cycle can be broken."

"How do you know?" demanded Baltar. "And don't say because it's God's will…because you know damn well I'm not a believer."

Six sighed and stroked a hand down the side of his face, "After everything you've seen Gaius?"

Baltar wilted as his anger fled, "I have no idea what I've seen, and you refuse to explain."

"The Travellers have the ability to find the lost city, the ancient home of humanity. The last refuge of those that came before.. It is there that both Humans and Cylons can live in harmony which is what God wants. He needs the cycle broken so that we can move on and grow. Gaius, the pieces that allow this future are all in place but the road remains hidden. Lacy Rand has studied the prophecy she knows what I know. She knows who the Travellers are…you must be involved with their mission you are important piece Gaius."

Baltar frowned up at the figure only he could see, "Why?"

Six took a step back and studied him for a moment, "You are not ready for God's truth yet."

"What is that meant to mean?" he demanded, but Six was gone.

"You know we really are good at fraking things up aren't we?" asked a very familiar voice.

Baltar turned to see himself leaning against the wall. His doppelgänger was dressed in an expensive suit and immaculately groomed.

The figure gave him a small wave, "You know what Gaius, do you mind if I call you Gaius? Well anyway, you say you don't believe but is that really true anymore?"

"You're Six," he guessed.

"Nope, I'm you…let's call myself a copy shall we? Regardless I'm you or as close to you as I can be. My colleague is…ahh worried that you are frustrated."

Baltar frowned, "Frustrated? You call a Cylon in my mind telling me all sorts of rubbish is…is…" he trailed off at the others amused look.

"She's telling you the truth, well spoon feeding you the truth so you don't choke on it. Believe you me it's big. It's a gigantic truth that will rock everyone's world and maybe, just maybe you'll get to make a difference."

"You are as bad as she is," complained a confused looking Baltar.

The image of Baltar rolled his eyes, "You need to be a part of it, Gaius. You know it don't you, but you still fight it, refusing to accept that you have a part to play. Just do it okay?"

Baltar blinked and he was alone in the room.

oOoOo


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

What's this? Two updates for the same story on the same day?

The end times approach...

Last Time:

"She's telling you the truth, well spoon feeding you the truth so you don't choke on it. Believe you me it's big. It's a gigantic truth that will rock everyone's world and maybe, just maybe you'll get to make a difference."

"You are as bad as she is," complained a confused looking Baltar.

The image of Baltar rolled his eyes, "You need to be a part of it, Gaius. You know it don't you, but you still fight it, refusing to accept that you have a part to play. Just do it okay?"

Baltar blinked and he was alone in the room.

oOoOo

Caprica

Caprica Six, hero of the Cylons, looked down at the pistol in her hand and, not for the first time wished that there was not a resurrection ship in the system.

"You know Six that you are not the only one with doubts."

Caprica Six didn't need to turn to know that Baltar was back.

"You could have fooled me," she replied.

Baltar walked past her to look out the window of her room. The view of the nearly deserted city was excellent but it also heightened Six's sense of loneliness. "You have been with the others trying to determine what happened to your prisoners?"

"Why do you care, you are dead."

Baltar smiled smugly, "Are I see your sister has once more been in your ear. My counterpart is alive and well in the Colonial fleet."

"You're lying."

"Well either I am or Three is. Given that I've never lied to you I know what I'd believe."

"You are not real, you are a glitch in my programming," argued Six.

Baltar simply smiled and walked over to a bookcase, "Such an impressive collection. All these works of religion have you read them all?"

"You know I have," replied Six as she slumped into her chair.

"Hmmm…ahh the Chloeian prophecies, such an accurate work," Baltar didn't look back at six as he continued reading the titles. "The Pythian prophecy, The Sacred Scrolls and the book if the One. My, my, such weighty titles and what have you found Six?"

Six was going to ignore him but something in his smug tone brought all her anger and frustration boiling to the surface, "That all of this is fraking wrong. The humans, us we've fraked it all up beyond recognition and now there is nothing. Our victory is ashes and I'm the only one that sees it!"

Baltar walked over and gently took her hand, "Not the only one. I think there is someone you need to talk to."

Six turned to see an older man standing behind her, "How did you…." She trailed off as she realised that she was projecting.

"You did well messenger," said the newcomer. "Why don't you seek out your sisters?" The figure then turned to Six. "I have been waiting for you."

Six studied the Cylon in shock. Who was he, one of the Five?

"I'm not one of the Five, I am one of the first Hybrids."

Six gaped at the elder Hybrid, "I…why are you here?"

The hybrid gestured and the forest was replaced by a star map, "I'm going to show you the truth."

oOoOo

An hour later Six made her way to the spaceport and took a heavy raider. She had seen Kobol and knew what secret it held. She had also seen what the collective had done under the direction of One. The First had shown her the stakes and what was truly at risk.

Kobol was the home of many truths. Some were benign but some were cancers that needed to be cut out.

She had a small window of time and the clock was ticking. After all, she had been given a mission and she wouldn't fail.

oOoOo

Priestess Elosha looked over her notes and then up at Lacy Rand, "You are sure?"

"Are you Elosha?" countered Rand with a gentle smile.

Elosha compared the translations in her mind before nodding, "I can't see how it could be wrong given the early translations you had."

Hermione frowned at her own notes, "So you think these are spatial coordinates?"

"I believe that they are meant to be. I think we need to get a navigator to look them over," replied Elosha.

Hermione nodded accepting that as she traced a finger of another passage, "And this planet, Kobol will show us what?"

Rand pulled out the Scared Scrolls, "It is the original birthplace of the Colonials and according to the Chloeian prophecy it will give us the proof we need to convince the unbelievers and give a key to the travellers."

"A key to what?" asked Hermione.

"It doesn't say," said Elosha with a sigh.

The last member of their group broke his silence, "I'll look the math over but from what I can see they match the coordinates given to us by the First Hybrid. It just how they are transcribed."

"Thank you, Doctor Baltar," replied Elosha.

"So we go to the President and the Admiral with these coordinates for Kobol but we don't really know what we are going to find there," said Baltar.

Rand shook her head, "We know we should find the next piece of the puzzle."

Balter wanted to point out that they didn't know anything but before he could speak he felt a hand on his shoulder and Six was whispering in his ear, "They are right Gaius, let it go. The Travellers must get to Kobol if they are going to find the way."

"Why Kobol?" whispered Baltar.

"Doctor?" asked Elosha but Baltar waved a hand as if to say 'ignore me'.

Six ran her hand through his hair, "Because it holds many secrets Gaius. If the Colonials land on Kobol without the Travellers they will begin a dangerous journey down a far harder, bloody path. With the Travellers, a new way opens and the first break in the circle occurs."

Elosha gave Baltar an odd look and they returned to putting together their recommendation.

oOoOo

Helena Cain glared at Adama as he and the woman claiming to be the President entered the brig followed by a middle-aged man in civilian clothes holding a briefcase.

"What do you want Adama?"

Adama frowned at the woman on the other side of the hardened plastic, "The President wanted to speak to you, not me."

Cain turned her attention to Roslin, "Madam President."

Roslin ignored the mocking emphasis on her title, "Miss Cain I wanted to explain to you what was going to happen from here. Mister Liverson here was a public prosecutor on Caprica. He will explain the charges against you and then we'll talk."

Liverson cleared his throat, "Admiral Cain the list of charges against you are serious. Piracy, dereliction of duty, murder and a relatively extensive list of violations of Military codes. Normally any one of these would be enough for me to be pushing for, at least, a life sentence. Together an argument could be made for the death penalty. I'd advise that you consider seeking legal council Madam."

Roslin smiled coldly, "I'll see that you get a list of the surviving defense lawyers."

Cain paled but didn't react otherwise until she cleared her throat almost a minute later, "You don't have the authority and as far as a trial goes I demand a military tribunal anyway. Which you can't form without three Admirals."

"Not true Admiral," replied Liverson. "At the executives discretion, any high ranking officer can be tried by a joint tribunal. There is sufficient precedent for that in law. For that, she would need only one Admiral and two citizens of good standing."

Cain glared at the three of them, "Fine, you can run a sham trial, Do you think the fleet will sit quietly for that? My people will fight you tooth and nail. I'm calling your bluff."

Adama's face was stony, "The Pegasus is broken Admiral, without extensive repairs she's not even fit to jump. You have lost nearly a quarter of you crew. If they tried something we could finish the job the Cylons started."

"You don't have the guts Adama. You need me to fight this war and avenge the Colonies…your are a fraking coward."

Adama shook his head, "I'm not after revenge, I'm looking for our people to survive not go down fighting. This is your chance to help with that Helena."

"Frak you Adama, when I get out of here I'm going to enjoy watching you hang, you fraking traitor," yelled Cain.

Roslin shook her head, "Thank you Mister Liverson, please tell my assistant to notify Commander Tigh of the Admiral's decision."

Adama cleared his throat, "Well then Cain our next job is to separate the wheat from the chaff. We will be asking any of you crew that wishes to join our fleet, in particular, those you illegally drafted at gunpoint if they wish to leave the Pegasus. Once that is done we will be leaving, before the Cylons return. You want to save the Pegasus, rejoin the fleet? You and those that follow your orders to execute civilians will face trial. Do that and I'll consider spending our resources patching the Pegasus up. Refuse and I'll make the hard call and do to you what you have done to others. I'll leave you to die gloriously along with the other fanatics."

Cain smashed her fist against the wall, "FRAK YOU, I'll kill you myself."

"Then we are done here," replied Adama.

oOoOo

Less than a hundred people left Pegasus and most of those were illegally recruited civilians. The others were a mix of deck crew and junior officers. Each was questioned before being redeployed save one. A Marine dressed as a deck crewman who was armed with a well-hidden set of weapons. He was sent back to the Pegasus along with the stunned crew being held with Cain.

oOoOo

Tigh grimaced at the poorly hidden anger on his old friends face.

"Are you sure Bill?"

"We are out of time Saul. We can't deal with Cain and what would be a long drawn out trial. Having her on board with her people in the fleet would be like living with a nest of vipers. They would be trying to mutiny the minute Cain was found guilty. The Pegasus is done, her drives are gone. With repairs, they might be able to get their FTL working but by then we'll be gone."

"People aren't going to like it," muttered Tigh.

"I don't like it but the President agrees, it's the only solution we have time for. I'm surprised the Cylons haven't shown up already."

oOoOo

The three Battlestars jumped leaving the Pegasus alone floating amid the debris of the battle.

oOoOo

Colonial One

"Madam President we may have to run the elections sooner than we had anticipated. Having representatives of the people will certainly create some issues but it will also help speed up any issues that are bogged down due to you being the only civilian executive," explained Tory Foster.

Roslin took a deep breath, "Then let's do it. Make the notifications about nominations and voting for the Quorum of Twelve."

"Yes Ma'am, and Priestess Elosha and Miss Granger are here to see you," added Billy Keikeya.

"Good, send them in."

Elosha and Hermione delivered their conclusions to the President, who sat listening and taking the occasional note. When they finished, she sat back in her chair and looked down at her notebook.

"We have the coordinates for Kobol and the First Hybrid and the Chloeian prophecies insist that we go there with you and Mister Potter to avoid the prophecy that returning will enact a price in blood. On Kobol, we'll find proof that there is a lost city and a key for our journey."

"That's a bit summarised but yes Madam President that's what it all says."

Roslin considered a moment before nodding, "I'll discuss it with Admiral Adama."

oOoOo

In Orbit of Kobol

Caprica Six looked down at Kobol with a degree of wonder. It was here that she had a chance to make a difference. She could clearly remember her 'directions' so she quickly landed her ship and walked to the ruins of the temple of Zeus in the centre of the city.

Part of the temple still stood. Indeed, most was below ground level looked to be remarkably preserved. Six walked around the room that the First Hybrid had shown her. All was as he had said it would be now she just had to wait for the others.

oOoOo

The first to arrive were the Galactica and the Odyssey but they were soon followed by the rest.

Within the hour, the Colonial had established a strong presence in the system with Vipers and Raptor pickets in place looking for anything untoward.

The important part of the mission kicked off as three Raptors began their descent to the surface. On board were two full squads of Marines, Colonel Sparta, Lacy Rand, Elosha, Baltar, Harry and Hermione.

The Raptors touched down at the outskirts of the ruins that Elosha had confirmed matched the City of the Gods from the sacred scrolls. The Colonials were speechless as they disembarked and breathed the air of the world they considered the birthplace of Humanity. Even Harry and Hermione were moved as they looked out over the ruins.

Eventually, Colonel Sparta got them moving toward the centre of the city.

"Sir, we've got a heavy raider ahead," warned a Marine over their tactical wireless.

"Any Cylon's in sight?" asked Sparta.

"No sir, nothing moving but the hatch is open and it's powered down."

"We may have company," warned Sparta. "There is a Cylon Heavy Raider on the other side of the Temple." He keyed his mike on, "Close in on our target location and report. Do not fire unless fired on. We don't know what's happening here people so let's be careful."

Eventually, they reached their scouts, "Sir, we spotted a single Cylon, a model Six when she came out to.., ah relieve herself," reported the Sargent.

"Armed?" asked Sparta.

"Not that we could see and with the dress she had on there were not a lot of places to hide a weapon, Sir."

"Right then let's go, we don't know what's in there so let's be careful. Sargent leave one squad out here to act as a rear guard," ordered Sparta.

The descent into the basement was led by the Marines and by the time the others reached the basement complex they found a Six with her hands raised standing against a wall.

Sparta stepped forward, "Hello Six, what a surprise to see you here."

The Six however only had eyes for Baltar.

"Six?" prompted Sparta.

"The First Hybrid told me that I needed to be here to find you after he showed me the truth," replied Six.

Sparta gestured and the Marines lowered their weapons, "I see, and why is that?"

"To find answers," whispered the Six.

Before anyone could comment Harry stepped off the stairs onto the dirt covered floor.

oOoOo

Harry could see that Sparta and his Marines had the Six covered so he stepped off the stairs to clear the way for the others. As soon as his feet touched the floor the lights came on.

From the centre of the floor, a metallic dais rose up as the floor around it dropped away. Dust cascaded as the detritus of millennia was displaced. On the dais an odd metallic chair with what looked like crystals set in the arms. Around the dais, there were eight depressions, each containing what looked to be glowing orange crystals.

Before anyone could react, a woman with long red hair dressed in white appeared between Harry and the dais. The figure raised a hand, perhaps in greeting, before talking in what sounded to Harry like Latin.

Several Marines appeared to be praying assuming the figure was one of the gods. The rest seemed unsure what to do.

Eventually, Hermione stepped forward, "I think that's Latin, hold on let me. Who are you?" she asked in Latin.

The figure raised an eyebrow and smiled, "I believe that my name translated would be Hope." She said in English. "I must say that I am surprised to see two children of the First world here."

Hermione and Harry stared open-mouthed at the woman.

"I…what?" managed Hermione.

Hope seemed to look into the distance before sighing, "Oh I see, well this is an interesting situation."

Harry frowned as he stepped in front of Hermione holding his wand, "What is this, what the bloody hell is going on?"

Hope raised an eyebrow, "I will explain but perhaps we should converse in a language your friends can understand." She waved her hand and there was a pulse of light in the room. 'There, now we can talk. I must say when we were warned that someone had activated the control chair I was not expecting such a…interesting group."

"Harry, Hermione what is going on?" asked Sparta.

Hope smiled brightly, "Ah now you, we expected, a Kobolian returned home despite the warning left by my people."

Sparta stepped back in shock, "you claim to be one of the Gods?"

Hope laughed but there was an edge to it, "A god, no I am no God just as those that were in power here were not gods. They were very powerful, able to warp reality but they were not gods…although perhaps to your ancestors they were." Hope shrugged, "It doesn't really matter they broke their vows and left long ago all save one who repented."

Elosha had paled dramatically, "The Gods were false?"

Hope frowned, "I suppose that depends on your perspective. I never much liked the Ori all that much, but for your purposes if thinking of them as gods helps, then who am I to tell you no?"

"I don't understand," said Hermione.

Hope shrugged as if to say that wasn't her concern before pointing at the dais, "It works you know, even after all this time. It will show you the path forward far clearer than any arrow."

"What does it do?" asked Harry.

"It will show you the way to the lost city," replied Hope.

"So someone has to sit in it?" asked Baltar.

Hope stared at Baltar and then at the empty spot next to him for a moment, "Not just anyone you need our blood in your veins."

Baltar looked at Harry and Hermione, "They are your descendants aren't they?"

Hope nodded, "The children of the Anquietas or in your tongue, the ancients."

Hermione started forward but Harry caught her arm, "Let me, in case you need to save me."

Hermione froze then nodded, "Be careful."

Harry stepped past Hope and sat in the chair.

oOoOo

Stars overlaid with strange script appeared and for a moment that was all he saw and then he felt it. Magic coursed through him and his perception opened up. He saw what was beneath him, decaying beneath the City of the Gods. He saw a vast galaxy-spanning alliance and technology that worked alongside magic.

Memories not his own were open to him, knowledge flowed into his brain. Pain lit up his nerve endings as he opened his mouth and screamed.

He felt a hand on his physical body and a familiar presence joined him, Hermione.

Together they saw the end of Kobol he saw Athena or was it Hope working to deflect the worst of her brethren's anger away from the humans of Kobol. He saw the others grow petty and arrogant. No longer benevolent they became tyrants, demanding worship.

They destroyed their toys when they tired of them.

Then Athena called the rest of her kin and helped humanity escape. The others left as around the Galaxy their people splintered apart. The 'Gods' of Kobol joined the Ori, would be Gods.

All apart from Athena/Hope, she sought redemption and, in the end, ascended as her body fell to the rocks below.

There was war and plague.

Then the Ancients fell, their cities abandoned.

Atlantis, the lost city, hidden by the Ancients, kept safe from their enemies.

oOoOo

Harry woke up with start to see Lacy Rand studying him intently "Are you well Mister Potter?"

Harry sat up, "I feel fine, what happened, why did it stop?"

"Good questions," replied Rand. "We have no idea what it even did beside light up and project a star field. As soon as you sat Hope disappeared."

Harry paused, considering what he should say. Given the religious convictions of the Colonials it probably wasn't a good idea to repeat everything, he had learned until he had processed it himself. Seeing Hermione being checked by a Medic he stood and walked over.

"How is she?" he asked before Hermione opened her eyes.

"Wow that was amazing!" said Hermione with a broad smile on her face as she sat up.

"What was?" asked a worried looking Elosha.

Hermione shook her head, 'I don't know how to explain. It was like the chair showed us what happened here. Well, parts of it anyway. It also gave us what we needed to find the Lost City."

Rand raised an eyebrow, "You know the way?"

Harry and Hermione both nodded and Harry pointed to his head, "I probably need a pen and paper before I forget what I saw."

Hermione looked back at the chair, "This was once an outpost of a great civilization a precursor to humanity. The chair was part of the cities defences. It may not still work but it still has a power supply and we need to take them to Atlantis."

Harry frowned and walked over to one of the indentations and touched several crystals. A moment later eight large, glowing crystalline tubes rose up out of the floor. "We need to take all of these."

"What about her Sir," asked a Marine as he pointed at Six

Sparta turned to look at the Six.

"The First Hybrid showed me the truth…what One has done and what he forced us to do. I couldn't stay with the collective after that. We, I need to atone for my sins," her eyes shifted to Baltar and there was a look of longing there for a moment before she blinked and focused on Sparta. "I want to help."

Rand walked over and took Six, "Do you know who I am?"

Six swallowed remembering what the First Hybrid had shown her, "Yes Holy Mother."

"Good, I can accept that you want to help but it will be hard, do you understand that?" asked Rand.

Six nodded and the cleared her throat, "The Hybrid showed me a group of Cylons led by a Three calling herself Natalie. They are aware of One's plans and are seeking out the Colonials to try and find a way out of this mess."

Sparta hid his smile; his plan was working well by the sound of it.

oOoOo

"So these are a power source, fascinating," muttered Baltar as he studied the crystal.

"Based on what the chair showed me it's called a Potentia, and this one alone could power and entire city for hundreds of years if not more," explained Harry.

Baltar nodded as he considered the device, such power generation in such a small device was entering the realms of science fiction. "As far as I can determine it is sadly incompatible with our ships without a total refit."

Adama shook his head in wonder, "Amazing" which it was but right now there were more important things to clarify, "and the coordinates?"

Baltar looked up from the device, "Mr Gaeta is checking my work but as far as I can determine we are looking at twenty-four jumps all on the red line."

Adama winced, "That's risky."

"Unless we have accurate coordinates," replied Baltar. "Fuel and consumables are under control thanks to Mister Potter although we will need to continue our stockpiling for when we reach our destination."

Sparta ran a hand through his hair, "We are at a critical point in so far as we have managed to achieve what we hoped, fracturing of the collective. The question is what to do now we have the breathing space we wanted?"

"We leave-taking any allies with us and we follow the First Hybrids coordinates. The fleet should hold together for twenty-four jumps," said Adama.

Baltar took off his glasses and leaned back in his chair, "Our FTL drives have the range we've just lacked the ability to do accurate enough calculations. With the calculations provided by the Hybrid, we'll be jumping further than any Colonial ship ever has."

Harry looked thoughtful, "The chief has been explaining how FTL drives work but I still don't understand, why wouldn't distance be a problem?"

"Essentially FTL travel is from a known point to a calculated position. The normal range of the Galactica is twelve light years. That's based on our ability to calculate all the variables involved as much as it is our maximum range. Theoretically, we could jump much further, it's been speculated up to twenty times further if we had a better way of calculating the jump. That would put our maximum range at something like two hundred and forty light years. That would make our destination more than five thousand light years from here Mister Potter. That is close to five hundred normal jumps," explained Adama.

"So it is possible?" asked Harry.

Baltar nodded, "Yes it is."

oOoOo

Galactica – CIC

"Multiple contacts, small right at the edge of our DRADIS range," reported Gaeta.

"Go to action stations Mister Gaeta," ordered Tigh.

"Action stations, action stations. Set condition one throughout the ship. This is not a drill."

"Does the CAP have a visual?" asked Tigh.

"Eight Heavy Raiders," reported Gaeta as he relayed the pilot's reports. "They are just sitting there."

Tigh half turned as Adama walked, "Inform the CAP to hold their fire unless they change their posture."

Tigh frowned and lowered his voice as Adama joined him, "You think these are the defectors the Six mentioned?"

Adama looked at the DRADIS screen, "Maybe, anything on wireless?"

Dualla started to shake her head before pausing, "I have an incoming message, Sir."

"Put it on speakers," ordered Adama.

"…a truce…Colonial Fleet, we are requesting a meeting in the hopes of negotiating a truce."

Adama picked up a wireless headset, "Open a channel."

"Cylon vessels, this is Admiral Adama do not approach the fleet."

"Acknowledged, we shall hold our position."

"Get President Roslin on the line," Adama ordered Dualla before keying his mike again. "I am informing our leadership of your request. We will take no hostile action if you maintain your position."

"Thank you," replied a female voice. "We will await your reply."

oOoOo

Tigh looked at the assembled Marines before nodding to Gunny Mathias. Turning back to Adama and Roslin he indicated toward the Marines, "We are ready Sir."

Behind Roslin and Adama stood the rest of the team they had chosen for this important contact. Sparta, Granger and Potter stood with Seven, Rand and Graystone.

The pad lowered to reveal a Heavy Raider.

The moment the pad hit the deck Mathias had her Marines in place, ready to act if the Cylons did anything threatening.

The hatch cycled open and four Cylons emerged. Adama recognised all four models. Six, Three, Two and an eight to round out the group, all four were unarmed.

The Six walked forward a few paces, "Thank you for seeing us."

Adama and Roslin both nodded but it was Roslin that spoke.

"Welcome aboard, you mentioned a truce Six?"

The Six nodded, "Please call me Natalie because calling me Six will just get confusing."

Roslin raised an eyebrow, "Well Natalie, one of your sisters gave us word that you were looking for us. May I ask why?"

Natalie took a deep breath, "We found out what One has done, the crimes he has committed against your people and mine. I need to know if what I have been shown is true."

"We have a video of a confession, He has quite the temper doesn't he?" said Roslin.

Six grimaced, "A temper and he's apparently insane. Not a combination that I want controlling the collective."

The newly arrived Two standing next to Natalie had been staring at the others gathered behind Roslin. As Six spoke, he stepped forward, "Seven…it is true."

The other Cylons suddenly focussed on Daniel and as a group, they moved forward. The Marines began raising their weapons but Sparta called out an order to hold.

Natalia stepped forward past Roslin, her eyes focused on Daniel, "Seven…God, you are alive!" She closed the distance between them and reached out to touch him with a shaking hand. "Even with the vision, the Hybrid's showed us we were worried."

Daniel smiled gently and reached out to take Natalie's hand, "I am safe sister but reunions must wait we have much to discuss."

The Three with the group touched Daniel's hand, a look of joy on her face. As she turned, she spotted Harry and Hermione, "You were in our vision."

Adama gestured to an exit, "We have a meeting room prepared. Perhaps we should move somewhere a little less public?"

oOoOo

"Holy Mother Rand, your presence is surprising," said Three as she looked at the young woman opposite her.

Rand smiled, "Where else should I be Three but where I am most needed?"

"I meant considering that you died decades ago," replied Three.

Rand was still smiling, "We have our own version of resurrection technology and I knew I would be needed more here and now."

The Two frowned, "You have a copy of the Chloeian prophecy?"

"I do, and I have shared it," replied Rand

"I was right, it's what the Hybrid was referring to?" asked Two.

Rand nodded as the Two smiled broadly, "I knew it, which means that the Travellers have revealed themselves."

"Two," said Natalia in a warning tone.

Rand nodded again, "They have and the Colonials know it as well."

"You shared the prophecies with them?" asked Natalie, shock evident on her face. The Collective would never have shared the word of God to unbelievers.

"I did, it was needed" replied Rand. "The Travellers were at risk, and Natalie do not forget that I am still the head of the monotheist church."

Natalie nodded accepting Rand's words, "Yes, Holy Mother of course."

"They are here?" asked the Eight. "I had assumed that the prophecy was a metaphor."

"They are here," confirmed Rand.

Harry and Hermione shared a look at the Cylons reaction but before they could do anything more Adama stood and introduced Colonel Sparta.

"I have a video to show you and then I'll share what I know…"

oOoOo

Two hours later the newly arrived Cylons were both furious and deeply concerned. The video of One had been damning on its own but Daniel's story of how he was betrayed was so confronting that Sparta had been growing concerned that the Cylons might simply murder One.

Natalie had been the first to respond, "We came seeking answers. The First Hybrid showed us, warned us about One and showed us the last Seven. He showed us that the collective has been corrupted. His vision led us here and I fear that here we will have to stay. For us to return to the collective with One in charge would mean boxing, probably for all the models save his own."

"The loss of countless humans, the Final Five, the Sevens, the Centurions and now the Hybrids, it is clear that he is determined to see his plan through," added Two. "Even if our fleet is as crippled as we suspect, it won't take One long to take charge again. The Fours and the Fives, as well as a majority of the Eights, are still in his pocket. Even with the forces, you have here Admiral, I fear we would still be at a major disadvantage."

"Will the Collective turn against him if we gave them what we have?" asked Roslin.

The Three shook her head slowly, "Maybe, but what if One simply boxes all our brethren? He controls the Centurions and with their higher functions blocked I fear that he could order them to wipe out the other models."

Six ran her hand over Baltar's shoulder and up his neck as she whispered in his ear, "This is it Gaius, the critical moment that the first link in the cycle is broken."

Baltar leaned forward, "Then we go, we make for the Lost City…all of us, Humanity and their children. We leave the One's and the Cain's to play out their cycle of hatred."

Rand frowned as she considered, "This might be what the First Hybrid wanted. It aligns with the prophecy and with what he told us."

"I think we need to jump to the first of the coordinates we have. Then we can scout out a route," offered Adama. 'There are a lot of lives at stake here and I'll not risk them without some proof."

"Well Done Gaius," whispered Six as she disappeared.

oOoOo

In the end, Roslin once more addressed the fleet. Explaining what had happened with the Pegasus. She explained the arrival of more Cylon defectors and then the warning given by the mysterious First Hybrid.

Throughout the fleet reactions varied from angry disbelief to tearful acceptance. They had survived and for now, they had a chance.

oOoOo

As Roslin spoke, a trio of ships was being prepped to jump ahead of the fleet following the First Hybrid's instructions. A Raptor and a Heavy Raider would make the journey escorting the Celestra. The Celestra was a deep space exploration vessel with a long-range FTL drive designed to function for years without resupply. Given what they knew, the Celestra had more than enough range to reach the Lost City and return. It could also be used refuel the Raptor and Heavy Raider accompanying it.

Admiral Adama put Apollo in command of the mission and ordered him to liaise with Natalie to put together a crew.

The Celestra had berths for twenty-four and for this mission that was perfect.

"Have you got any ideas who you want?" asked Admiral Adama as he poured his son a cup of tea. Their oft-strained relationship was pushed aside as both understood the gravity of the mission.

"I think that six Marines led by Gunny Mathias would be enough security. I'll need two Raptor jockeys and two ECO's as well as maybe a few engineers, just in case."

"Take Sharon, she's the best we have and she'll be able to liaise with the other Cylons," said Admiral Adama.

"She's a good officer," replied Lee. His answer made it clear that he didn't care about her race.

"That she is, I think you should also speak to Potter. His abilities may be needed."

Lee raised an eyebrow, "His work with the fleet…"

"Will, if it is required, be done by Hermione, He has done sterling work repairs are almost complete and our logistical position hasn't been this strong since before the war. Besides, if the priests and the Cylons are right he may need to be there with you."

oOoOo

Harry kissed Hermione as she lay satiated on top of him.

"Wowsers," whispered Hermione. 'That was…well spectacular. I don't think I can move right now."

Harry grinned, "Why thank you, Miss Granger."

"I wish you didn't have to go," whispered Hermione as she lifted her head to look into Harry's eyes.

"I wish you could come…but."

"But, I'm needed here," finished Hermione.

Harry's expression grew pensive, "Since the attack I've been worried about you."

"Daniel will keep an eye on me," replied Hermione with a soft smile. "He was almost as upset about it as you."

"It shouldn't be more than two weeks or so if the coordinates are correct so I won't be gone too long."

"Long enough for me to worry," replied Hermione as she lay her head on his chest.

oOoOo

President Roslin looked out over the crew of the Celestra with a proud smile, "This is a potentially a historic turning point in our struggles. The fall of the colonies, the exposure of One and his cabal's lies and our historic alliance with the Cylon Exiles means that we now have a chance to find a new home for our peoples," Roslin turned to face the camera crew and the collected Journalists. "Captain Adama has been appointed the mission commander and he will be leading a mixed crew toward the reported location of a safe haven. To determine if the targeted system is suitable we have included Doctor Baltar as a science consultant."

Harry glanced toward Rebeka, who gave him a small shrug and a smile.

Adama then took over for Roslin naming the crew for the mission. There were two Raptor Pilot/ECO teams (Sharon Valerii/ Lieutenant Alex "Crashdown" Quartararo & Lieutenant Jay "Shark" Finnegan/Ensign Megan "Easy" Esrin).

The crew of the Celestra included three deckhands from the Triton, led by Rebeka, A DRADIS/Communications officer, Ensign Amelia Davis. From the Odyssey, came a Navigation Officer, Lieutenant Tony Price. And finally, a squad of six Marines led by Gunny Mathias.

The Cylon contingent looked rather nervous as they were introduced to the Media. Leoben Conoy, Zoe Graystone, Caprica Six and a Three calling herself Valeria would be the 'crew' for the Heavy Raider accompanying the Celestra.

Harry had to admit that he was rather nervous regarding the Admiral's plan. But given the situation, he couldn't fault the timing, given the disruption being caused by the Hybrids.

oOoOo

Day One - Celestra

Lee looked around at the gathered crew of the Celestra, "Are we ready?"

"Yes Sir," replied Price. "Scout one and two acknowledge that they are ready to jump."

"Then let's go, Lieutenant," ordered Lee.

The familiar sensation of a FTL jump passed through the ship.

"Jump successful, all ships accounted for," reported Price. "Nothing on DRADIS."

Lee nodded and took the wireless handset from the rack and selecting a ship wide channel, "Right we have an hour, people. Let's check everything twice and make sure it works before we jump again," hanging up the mike he turned to Harry and Rebeka, "Crewman Toll, Mister Potter a word please."

Harry and Rebeka walked over to Lee, who stood behind the Captains command chair.

"Sir?" prompted Rebeka.

"Harry, I assume that you will be able to fix anything that breaks down but I wanted to raise the issue of our Cylon friends. I think that we might need to be circumspect about your…abilities with our Cylon guests."

Harry hesitated before answering wondering what exactly the younger Adama was thinking, "Captain I suspect that Zoe Graystone may already know some of what I am capable of. The others, well I'll do my best but I'll not risk lives if I can save them."

Lee smiled, "That's all I can ask."

"Celestra this is Raptor One, I have nothing on DRADIS, moving to sentry now."

"Celestra Actual, acknowledged Raptor One. Our next jump is scheduled in…Fifty-eight minutes…do not stray too far Shark."

"Don't worry, Easy has her eye on the clock."

oOoOo

"All systems are operational Captain, FTL one is spun up," reported Ensign Davis.

"Prepare for FTL jump," ordered Lee.

oOoOo

Day 8 – Celestra

"I've got something on DRADIS," reported Quartararo from Raptor 1. "It's stationary…no radiation. Boomer is doing a pass to get some footage."

It had been eight days of nothing, except delays (They had lost two days thanks to an odd DRADIS reading they had thought might be Cylon. It had been a metal-rich asteroid). Now as they drew closer to the First Hybrids coordinates the entire crew was riding high on adrenaline and anticipation.

Caprica looked up from the DRADIS station, "Captain we have it on DRADIS as well. It has a rather odd DRADIS signature."

Lee had been rather against letting the Cylons on to the bridge but Zoe Graystone had insisted that they be allowed to help, given the status as a joint mission. She had jokingly added that the Heavy Raider was far too small a space to share with Two.

Leoben Conoy wasn't quite that bad…the mystically inclined Cylon was in fact remarkably earnest but Lee had to admit that he wouldn't like twenty-four hours a day of religious commentary either.

"Celestra this is Valeria, we have something on the surface of the moon we are surveying. It could be man-made."

Lee frowned and looked over at the DRADIS. The symbol for the Heavy Raider was right on the edge of their DRADIS coverage.

"Celestra Actual, Valeria hold position until we confirm what we have here," ordered Lee.

"By your command," acknowledged Valeria.

"Celestra…Apollo we have something here," reported Boomer. "A circular object, a ring…big enough to fly a Raptor through…never seen anything like it…Cylon...lonial."

"What's causing the interference?" asked Lee.

Davis frowned as she adjusted her console, "The planet near the unknown is putting out some strange EM radiation. Nothing harmful but at this distance it is effecting wireless."

"…It is man-made."

"Repeat your last Boomer." ordered Lee.

"We are looking at something th…. is man-made Apollo."

oOoOo

"Any of you ever seen anything like it?' asked Lee as he looked around the crowded bridge.

The Humans and Cylons looked around at each other.

Baltar was studying the pictures intently, "It looks like it is meant to be in stable Geostationary orbit…look see these have to be manoeuvring thrusters or something similar. It is still in a stable orbit of the planet so Captain it may indeed have power."

"So not Cylon or Colonial," mused Lee as he looked down at the gun camera images of the metal ring.

"We should investigate the planet and the moon. Perhaps the answers are there," said Two.

Lee considered for a minute before nodding, "Well whatever the ring thing is, right now it's dead in the water. Rebeka prep the Raptor. Shark, Easy you are taking down a landing party. You, three Marines and Mister Potter. I want to know if anything like what we found on Kobol is down there."

oOoOo

It took another day but they eventually found the outpost exactly where Baltar had said it would be. The unfortunate part of the situation was that it was buried under almost two metres of ice. In the end, Harry had to step in and clear away the ice courtesy of some fire spells.

He revealed a small complex of cunningly crafted buildings that looked weathered but rather well preserved. There appeared to be just the one entrance into the six interconnected buildings so they concentrated their attention on it. There didn't seem to be a handle or locking mechanism so one of the Marines suggested that there might be a hidden sensor. Two hours passed as they again failed to get the door open. The other two Marines were talking using charges to blow the door as Harry considered his options. They could flounder away down here, in the ice and snow or he could try magic.

A minute later Harry was staring at the now open door somewhat sheepishly, "I probably should have tried that first."

Gunny Mathias led the way followed by Harry and Ensign Megan "Easy" Esrin bringing up the rear. "Shark" had begrudgingly stayed on the Raptor as a backup.

The interior of the building looked remarkably like a lab or something similar even though they couldn't identify the function of most the equipment.

"It's pretty clean," send Mathias as she shined her torch around the room. "Well preserved."

"I reckon the door is either airtight or close to it," added Esrin.

Harry looked around the room for a few moments, "We should probably check the other rooms as well."

Mathias nodded, "We stay together."

The next room looked like a kitchen and the next a storeroom. They then reached what looked like a bedroom with four double bunks and an attached bathroom. All the rooms were empty of anything that could be construed as personal possessions. The fifth room proved far more interesting.

In the centre of the off-white wall, there was a metallic circle with a dark window in the centre.

"That a monitor or something?" asked Esrin.

Harry looked into the dark window, "Looks like it's off…arghh."

The object suddenly extended out and grabbed Harry's head.

"Frak…what the…Lyre. Mollin get that thing off him," ordered Mathias.

oOoOo

Harry gasped as something gripped his head but before he could react there was a blinding flash of light that forced Harry to open his eyes.

"Hello, my young friend."

Harry blinked as he opened his eyes to see a middle-aged human standing in what looked like a library.

Harry looked around in confusion noting the lack of anyone else and had a rather depressing flashback, "Oh come on not again."

"You are not dead Harry," said the man with a kind smile.

"Right, so what's going on them?'

The man gestured at the room around them, "This is all a projection to put you at ease while we talked." The man grinned, "Is it working?"

"Not so much," replied Harry. Although, he did feel calm all things considered.

"Well let me introduce myself and see if that helps, you can call me Tobin."

Harry nodded, "So Tobin what the hell is happening?"

"Right now? Well, I suspect that the neural interface is downloading a lot of information into your brain."

Harry grimaced, "Why?"

Tobin grinned, "To teach you of course. But if you mean that more broadly then I had better explain. Do you know where your people come from?"

"My people…um Earth I suppose," replied Harry.

"I hate to break it to you Harry but you are not even close. Magic as you call it is a gift my people brought to Earth. Every Witch, every Wizard carries a gene that allows them to access the energy that allows you to do magic. Muggleborn like your friend Hermione have inherited the gene from their parents who would be recessive carriers themselves. The vast majority of humanity are in reality the second evolution of humanity…Witches and Wizards are the last living descendants of my people."

"You are a wizard?" asked Harry.

Tobin shrugged, "Not as you would classify it but I could access the same energy. You, as our descendants have taken it in another direction."

"So why tell me this now?" asked Harry.

"Because the Lost City you seek belonged to your ancestors. Its technology and its knowledge will, once again be in the hands of our people. You needed what the interface is teaching you if you wish to live there. Oh and Harry, don't let anyone but Hermione use the interface. It isn't safe for those without your gifts."

Harry didn't want to know what to ask next, "Um…what about the Goblins?'

"Ah, yes the Vrort Goba. When we lived on Earth, there were races that we traded with. Many of the magical creatures you know actually came from off world," Tobin laughed but quickly controlled himself. "Their ancestors would be horrified to find that they had become bankers. They were a warrior race, honourable but a very prickly culture."

Harry nodded, it mad a sort of weird sense.

"Who are you?"

Tobin paused and then sighed, "I am a construct Harry, based on the real Tobin who…died long ago."

"Oh, um sorry," apologised Harry. 'So you are like a ghost?"

Tobin shrugged, "Similar I suppose, a technological equivalent of one."

"So what now?" asked Harry.

"Now I ask for a favour," said Tobin. "And then you wake up with what I suspect will be a legendary headache."

"A favour?"

"I want you to rescue my daughter," replied Tobin. "The building you are in is my lab. In the cryo-stasis unit, there is a cure for the plague that decimated my people. When you find here, she will need the antidote. Make sure that you keep samples, you will eventually find people that need it."

"Is your daughter in the Lost City?" asked Harry.

Tobin hesitated before shaking his head, "No, she is on another planet, far from here."

"Then how do I get to her, to help?" asked Harry.

"I have an Astria Porta here, in the next room that can get you there and back before its power source is depleted. I left the coordinates for the destination and the return coordinates with the cure. "

"What is an Astria Portal?"

Tobin smiled, "You'll know that when you wake up. Although even for a human advanced as you, it might take a few days to fully integrate the knowledge."

Harry suddenly looked at Tobin with narrowing eyes, "Hang on, if you set all this up why didn't you go get her?"

Tobin smiled sadly, "My people forbade it…I didn't have the cure then and…afterwards the others would never have allowed it."

"I don't understand," replied Harry.

"Time to wake up, and I am sorry Harry."

oOoOo

Harry staggered back into the arms of Gunny Mathias.

"Are you alright Potter?" asked Mathias as she lowered him to the ground.

To Harry, it felt like he'd taken multiple bludger hits to the head, "Yeah, headache that's all."

"What the hell was that?" asked Esrin.

Harry rubbed at his temples, "A talking book."

"What?"

"It's like a library that just dumped a whole lot of information into my head," Harry staggered to his feet. "Wait a minute I need to check something."

Harry went back to the lab and to the device he now recognised was a Cryo device. Inside were a small case and several crystals. He opened the case to see more than a dozen glass vials.

"Bloody hell," muttered Harry.

oOoOo

"So, you think this recording, or whatever it claimed to be, was being straight with you?" asked Lee from onboard the Celestra,

"I think so, I'm starting to have names and words pop into my head. We checked the other room and found the Astria Porta and a room with a nearly depleted Potentia. The device is intact and if my new memories are right, it should open a portal to another device where his daughter is trapped."

"It's hard to believe that anyone could still be alive after all this time," injected Baltar. "Although the use of cryo-sleep technology.."

"Yes, thanks, Doctor Baltar. If you do this Harry you will take a Marine with you," ordered Lee.

Harry handed the wireless back to Esrin, "Right, well then."

"You really going to do this Sir," asked Esrin.

Harry sighed, "Looks like I am."

"I'll go with you," said Mathias.

"Thanks, Erin," said Harry as the older woman began checking her weapons over.

Mathias smiled, "Hey I get to try out this portal thing as well."

Harry walked over to the control panel and entered the coordinates Tobin had left for them. The others backed off slowly before a huge funnel of what looked like water shot out from the portal before falling back into the ring. The surface of which now looked like a pool of rippling water.

"What in the name of the gods are we doing," muttered one of the Marines.

Harry stared at the…wormhole. His new memories supplied the term to him.

Mathias nudged his arm, "Look our rides here."

Harry looked at the suddenly pale Mathias and swallowed, his throat was suddenly dry. She had put her trust in him and he was trusting a being he had spent mere moments with.

"We doing this Sir?" asked Mathias.

Harry nodded and drew out his wand, "Let's go."

Walking side by side they approached the rippling surface.

oOoOo

Harry stumbled to his knees and vomited all over the ice. Beside him, Mathias was taking deep breaths as she fought nausea from the madness that had been the rollercoaster of a ride through the Astria Porta.

"That was not fun," muttered Harry as he wiped his mouth.

"Here," said Gunny Mathias as she passed him a water bottle.

Harry rinsed out his mouth and handed it back, "Thanks."

"We need to hurry it's pretty damn cold here," said Mathias.

"Oh, sorry hold on," Harry cast a warming charm on the Marine.

"Hey…wow that's better thanks," said Mathias as she felt herself warm up.

Harry looked around and spotted a slightly different but recognisable control panel. "Well the control panel is here and there is power so we can get home."

"So now what?" asked Mathias.

"Now we find our sleeping friend and get out of here," replied Harry as he looked around in the light coming from the gate before it suddenly shut down leaving them in darkness.

"It's okay," called out Harry it just shut down. It's meant to do that…I think," Harry said as he turned on his torch. Actually, they would need better light to find anything. He looked around before shrugging and casting a light charm on the gate control panel. The spell lit up the area quite nicely.

Harry cast a point me spell and once his wand had stopped moving, he called Mathias over, "She's in that direction. Can you mark it?"

Mathias pulled out her combat knife and scratched a mark into the ice, "What now Harry?"

"Now I use a bit of handy magic. You might want to stand back a bit," he called out an incantation and a large section of the ice disappeared.

Mathias was wide-eyed at the display of magic before she noticed a shape off to the side, "Harry what's that?"

It turned out to be a corpse. The human was dark-skinned and dressed in some sort of armoured suit. The body was frozen solid and was clearly not a woman.

Mathias was playing her torch over the ice, "There is another man in the ice near this one."

"I have no idea who they are," he quickly cast another locator spell that didn't point at the two bodies. "Do we just leave them here?"

Mathias shrugged, "I don't know that we need to do anything. By the look of them, they could have been here a long time. Maybe we should just leave them in peace."

Harry nodded sadly before turning back to the wall of ice and removing another section.

Eventually, they reached a dark shadow in the ice that his locator spell pointed directly at. Harry was about to cast another spell to vanish the ice when Mathias cleared her throat. "Umm Harry, shouldn't we give her the treatment first?"

Harry winced at the thought of missing that critical step, "Thanks, Erin, hmm how about I free an arm and we can inject her or whatever the hell this thing does."

Working slowly he uncovered a long sleeve and a hand. Inserting a vial in to what he knew was an automatic device he pressed it onto the exposed skin. To his surprise, the vial drained almost immediately.

Working more quickly now he freed what turned out to be a young woman from the ice.

"She's freezing," said Mathias. "Is she actually alive, I mean her eyes are open."

Harry frowned and tried to remember back to his Auror first aid training for anything that could help. Then suddenly he knew what to do, "We need to bring her back to room temperature. I can do that and then her body will begin healing itself."

Mathias didn't look convinced but followed Harry's instructions as he cast a series of warming charms on the body.

"Lumos," Harry lit the tip of his wand to check her pupils.

"By the Gods," whispered Mathias as the pupils contracted. The experienced Marine was motionless for a moment before reaching for the med kit. "I'll get a survival blanket out."

As they wrapped her, she took a gasping breath.

"Let's go," said Harry as he levitated the semi-conscious woman.

oOoOo

Day 10 – Celestra

"She's awake," called out Rebeka from the small medical office on the Celestra.

Harry and Lee made their way to the aft section of the bridge to see Rebeka talking quietly to their guest.

"I don't think she can understand what I'm saying," said Rebeka

"Amazing," whispered Lee. "After being in the ice for Gods know how long."

As Harry stepped in the woman turned to look at him, 'I wish Hermione was here…um okay…Deductavum… experietur quicquam mali tempus et nolite timere."

The woman tilted her head looking puzzled before slipping off her bed and walking over to Harry, "Alteran es?"

Harry nodded slowly and the woman reached up slowly to touch his face. She paused and looked at him, clearly waiting for permission.

Harry nodded again and she gently touched his face and closed her eyes.

"What's she doing?" asked Rebeka.

With a sigh, the woman removed her hand and smiled before crumpling to the floor, followed a moment later by Harry.

oOoOo


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

And sorry for the delay - Life, work and other far less important things really got in the way of this chapter. Still here you go, enjoy.

Last Time:

As Harry stepped in the woman turned to look at him, 'I wish Hermione was here…um okay…Deductavum… experietur quicquam mali tempus et nolite timere."

The woman tilted her head looking puzzled before slipping off her bed and walking over to Harry, "Alteran es?"

Harry nodded slowly, and the woman reached up slowly to touch his face. She paused and looked at him, clearly waiting for permission.

Harry nodded again, and she gently touched his face and closed her eyes.

"What's she doing?" asked Rebeka.

With a sigh, the woman removed her hand and smiled before crumpling to the floor, followed a moment later by Harry.

oOoOo

Day 10 – Celestra

Harry opened his eyes and then wished he hadn't. The light was bright, and almost immediately he had a headache, right behind his eyes.

"Harry, how are you feeling?"

"Headache," complained Harry as he rubbed his temples.

"Okay, this should help," Harry felt a needle prick on his upper arm and then a cold sensation. After a few moments, the headache began to clear.

"Any better?"

Harry opened his eyes to see Lee Adama and Rebeka standing beside his bed. "Yes thanks, it's fading already."

Adama slipped the syringe and needle into a waste container, "That's good because we need you to translate for our guest, and she is starting to wake up."

Harry swung his legs over the side of the bed and despite a momentary feeling of light headedness, that quickly passed he felt fine. "What happened?"

"You two were chatting and then she touched your face and next minute you were both out cold," explained Adama.

Thanks to the knowledge in the ancient database that had been uploaded into his memory, he suspected that she had been trying to telepathically communicate. As to why he had passed out, that was something he would ask when she awakened.

"Hmm, well I suspect I was probably exhausted," said Harry with a shrug. "Let's have a look at her."

Adama pulled back a curtain exposing Baltar, who was sitting quietly watching their mysterious guest sleep.

"Doctor Baltar, any change?" asked Adama.

"As near as I can tell she is simply sleeping as opposed to unconscious. I suspect that she will wake up, well any time now." Baltar peered down at the sleeping woman. "It's simply amazing…I mean she has been frozen for millennia. To survive such an experience, why it's beyond any science we possess."

"Is she human?" asked Adama.

It was Harry that answered, "Human…in a way. They were the first evolution of humans. The first to reach the stars, they are our ancestors, and we are their children."

Adama frowned, and Baltar cleared his throat, but neither spoke.

Rebeka looked down at the sleeping woman and then back at Harry, "How do you know Harry?"

Harry smiled sadly, "They left me, us a message."

"What do you mean by first evolution, are we the second?" asked Baltar.

Harry shrugged, "I'm still sorting out what they showed me. The Alterans were the first evolution of humanity. The left their home galaxy hundreds of millions of years ago after their people split into two factions. The Ori, and those that would become the Ancients. On Kobol, The Alterans eventually began populating worlds in different galaxies. They also began seeding worlds with life, this later led to the rise of humanity."

"So our gods were Alterans?" asked Baltar.

Harry shook his head, "On Kobol, Hope implied that was the case."

"Interesting as that may be I think…" Adama trailed off as their guest opened her eyes.

"Well, this is a surprise."

oOoOo

"I am well, thank you."

Harry, Adama, Baltar and Zoe Greystone gathered around the bed of the young woman who now sat up studying them with, what looked like, a keen interest.

"If you are up to we have questions," said Adama.

"Of course, as long as you don't mind me asking my own," replied the Ancient.

"How are you speaking our language now?" asked Baltar.

Harry rolled his eyes, "But first might I ask your name?"

"Aressa," replied Aressa with a smile. "And I absorbed the language from Harry. I hadn't expected to ever awaken again…I apologise if I was improper but I recognised that Harry was one of our people's descendants, even with his atrocious accent."

Harry smiled; Hermione had so often corrected his pronunciation that he wasn't shocked at all. "How did you know about me, I mean how can you tell?"

Aressa looked Harry in the eyes and touched his mind with hers. 'Your mental architecture is different from the others. You are a descendant of my people. Mixed, of course, but my people's blood flows in your veins. Although I am curious as to where you received a cure for the plague, we were unable to find one.'

"Harry?" asked Zoe in concern.

"I'm fine, Aressa was just talking to me telepathically…it was pretty amazing," explained Harry. "We found the cure in one of your people's outposts."

"How did you become trapped in the ice?" asked Lee Adama.

Aressa sighed, "When my people evacuated Terra it was discovered that I was a carrier of the plague. I was left behind."

"Well I am sure we have much to share with each other," said Lee Adama. "But before we exchange histories I, we have to ask if you have heard of Atlantis."

Aressa nodded, "Yes, the city ship had been my home on Terra."

"It's real?" whispered Baltar.

"City ship?" asked Adama.

Aressa looked a bit puzzled, "My people built city ships that allowed us both intersystem and hyperspace travel."

"Impressive," said Baltar in a quiet, reverent voice before clearing his throat. "We are looking for Atlantis because…"

Aressa sighed and held up a hand to stop Baltar, "I got that information from Harry, Doctor Baltar. As I understand, matter it has been some time since I was left on Terra. It is possible that Atlantis survives despite being abandoned but I do not know for sure."

"Would we be able to use it?" asked Zoe.

Aressa hesitated before nodding, "I believe so although I have no knowledge of who may be living in the city now."

"Do you believe that your people will still be there?" asked Adama.

"No, I think not. We would not have abandoned our responsibilities to the younger races except in the direst of circumstances. Harry has no memory of my people and yet his mental architecture is far closer to mine than anyone else here. He would be able to access far more of our technology."

"Would you be willing to help us?" asked Adama.

"Of course," replied Aressa.

"Great, excellent news," added Baltar. "I actually have a great many questions…"

oOoOo

"So, what do you think?" asked Lee Adama as he sipped at the Herbal Tea Harry had brewed in his small cabin.

"I believe that she's telling the truth. As to Atlantis, well we have seen some of their technology. I suppose that it is possible that the city still exists," replied Harry.

"But a city-sized ship…I mean the power requirements alone would be immense," added Baltar.

Zoe Greystone looked thoughtful, "Hmm, I'm inclined to believe her. From what I know, the Cylon colony is certainly large enough to qualify as a city. So I suppose that much at least is possible."

"Then we continue with the plan?" Adama asked looking around the group.

Seeing the nods, he stood, "Well then we had best get moving."

oOoOo

Galactica – CIC

Admiral Adama nodded to Commander Tigh as he entered the CIC. "Commander, what's the fleets status?"

"Replenishment is nearly finished. So far so good Sir," replied Tigh.

"Who has CAP?" asked Adama as a crewman handed him a mug of tea.

"Triton and Odyssey. DRADIS is clear."

Adama nodded, "Good, how long until our next scheduled jump?"

Tigh glanced over at the clock, "Eleven, we will be ready to, barring no surprises."

Adama turned to Gaeta, "Is the President aboard yet?"

"Her Raptor landed a few minutes ago Sir," reported Gaeta.

Adama glanced at his watch, "I'm due in a meeting shortly. Let me know if anything comes up."

"Will do Sir," replied Tigh with a wry smile. "Want me to manufacture an emergency?"

Adama shot his long time 2IC a dirty look as he left the CIC. He deliberately ignored the poorly hidden smiles on the face of the crew. Things were finally looking up, despite everything that had happened there was a growing sense of purpose in the fleet.

He was still smiling as he reached the meeting room, just as the President appeared from the opposite direct with her cadre of advisors.

Roslin grinned as she approached, "Admiral, it's nice to see you smiling before the meeting anyway."

"It's been a good day so far Madam President," replied Adama.

"True…actually, I wanted to run a few things by you before we get started with the others…."

oOoOo

Hermione was tired. Her schedule had been adjusted so that she could help with the critical tasks Harry had been undertaking. Unfortunately, she was still ridiculously busy just with her medical duties. Sitting in on meetings, even important ones felt like a waste of time. Giving herself a mental poke she concentrated on what the President was saying.

"…and with the Cylon contingent I think we need to move quickly to convene a trial."

"Are we worried about attacks on Cylons in the fleet?" asked Lacy Rand.

Roslin shook her head, "I don't think so, but I wish I knew for sure. I am hearing some grumbling and discontent but given what we have already told the fleet, people are taking their presence as well as we could expect. I'm pushing for a trial so that everyone, including our Cylon guests, can see what we are up against."

"It needs to happen so that both sides can get some closure and resolution," offered Rand. "The Cylons who have defected to us and those held on the Triton need it as much as the Colonials. The Atlantis joint mission was a huge step forward, but we need to encourage more collaboration."

Adama frowned as he cleared his throat, "I agree but we can't expect the destruction of the colonies to be forgotten. Even some of my officers have questioned why we are accommodating the Cylons. Yes, people are grateful that some Cylons helped us, but it doesn't cross out the red in the ledger for many people."

Elosha sighed, "All too true but I am not without hope. Holy Mother Rand and I have been speaking to the remaining religious figures in the fleet, and I see some positive steps forward. Did you know that the First Hybrid had a group of Centurions rescue culturally significant objects from Caprica? We have painting, statues, and first edition copies of many of our people's greatest written works. We also have the majority of the Seed Bank from Aerilon. A gift, I am told that will allow us to produce viable crops that much quicker."

Roslin nodded, "We need to build bridges, quickly because I fear that sooner or later we will face One's forces."

Hermione found herself nodding in agreement, "Madam President a politician from home once said, we must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately. We must find a way to work together."

oOoOo

Cylon Colony

One resisted the urge to kill Two sitting opposite him, just.

"…and with the fleet almost entirely disabled we need to reconsider our plans," finished Two.

"We must discover what has affected the Hybrids. Once that is resolved we can resume operations," added a Five.

Another Two gestured angrily toward One, "This is going around in circles! The majority of Hybrids are either dysfunctional or wirelessly quarantined. There has to be a reason and yes we must find it. Without resorting to lobotomizing the entire line with One's device."

"It is only temporary Two," explained One in a tone bordering on contemptuous.

"Just as the inhibitors for the Centurions were temporary?" The Two demanded.

A Six was the next to speak up, "I think we need a vote along model lines to decide our way forward. Besides, I have heard…rumours that I think we need to discuss."

One stood his face twisted in anger, "You are dooming yourselves."

Six raised an eyebrow, "Was that a threat One?"

One began to reply when he realised that all save the Fives were arrayed against him. Shaking his head he stood and stalked out of the meeting hall. The rest of his model followed along with the Fives and a handful of Fours.

The Ones were soon aboard the Basestars that he controlled. All of which had Hybrids fitted with inhibitor collars. As the spokesman One strode onto the bridge of his 'flagship' he turned to one of the silent, motionless Centurions.

"Code Three Alpha Seven," ordered One.

"By your Command," replied the Centurion.

One of the Four's that had accompanied him walked over curiously, "What is that brother?"

One sneered at the Four, "I am taking command of the fleet."

"But the collect…" the Four's head exploded in a bloody spray as the body dropped to the floor.

Turning the One ignored the Centurion, who had targeted another Four and walked toward the control panel and begun entering data. Aboard the other eleven Basestars Centurions began killing every humanoid Cylon aboard save the Ones and Fives.

Eleven Basestars, this was what he was reduced to. A fraction of the fleet they had spent decades amassing to exterminate humanity.

It would have to be enough.

The Collective had failed him and lost the clarity of vision that apparently he alone bore. Oh, the Five's would follow but the rest…well, there would be time for retribution later after he had finished his self-appointed mission.

oOoOo

Cylon Colony – The Hub

The spokespeople for the remaining models were gathered in the central court of the hub. The news that One had taken the eleven functional Baseships and left had rocked the Humanoid Cylons. And that was before the reports of a stream of resurrections aboard the Hub.

"His entire model has gone mad," whispered an Eight as the reports from their brothers and sisters filtered in.

A Three stood, anger evident on her face, "Are there any One's left on the Hub?"

"We don't think so," replied a Six.

"Round up any you find, same with the Fives and bring them in for questioning." Three looked across the group, locking eyes with a Four. "Are you with the collective?"

The Four nodded.

"Then we have decisions to make."

The Two stepped forward, "What of the intelligence we have regarding renegades joining the humans?"

"Can we trust the Hybrids? That's where the information came from," added an Eight.

The Three hesitated a moment, "I think we need to speak to one of the Hybrids before we try and reach consensus."

The Basestar they chose was the closest to the Hub and had been one of the first to go offline. The ship was empty save for a small crew of Centurions, who had been replacing the sabotaged FTL drives. So, when they reached the Hybrid Chamber, it was empty save for the motionless Hybrid.

"Will it speak to us?" Two asked the others as they stood around the Hybrid's tank.

"Can you hear us?" asked Three.

The Hybrid's eyes snapped open and locked on to the Three.

"I am present…FTL's offline…Life Support on minimal," replied the Hybrid.

"We are seeking…knowledge," said Three.

The Hybrid's lips twitched as if it was fighting a smile, "You come late to the table sister."

The other models stared at the Hybrid in shock. Hybrids rarely spoke so clearly.

"What do you mean," asked Two as he knelt down beside the Hybrid.

"The First Hybrid has returned…the travellers lead the journey as the children return to a new home in the lost city."

"What is that supposed to mean?" asked Six.

"One has broken faith…the concord is broken and consensus lost."

"One has broken faith, with the Collective?" asked Three.

"With God," replied the Hybrid. "Life Support online…FTL online."

"What has he done?" asked Two.

The Hybrid suddenly arched its back and screamed, "JUMP."

"Where are we?" asked the Three.

Eight looked at the displays before dipping her hand into the information stream. "We have jumped right to the edge of Cylon space."

"What have…" the Three trailed off as they appeared in a sunlit forest.

"Welcome, my children."

They turned to see a Cylon that resembled the Hybrid (although in a humanoid body) and an older man that looked familiar to the gathered Cylons.

"Where are we?" asked Eight.

The older man smiled and turned to the Hybrid, "Go, my daughter, see the others. I will summon you if it is needed."

The Hybrid smiled and ran off into the trees giggling.

Two suddenly grew wide-eyed, "You are a First Hybrid!"

The First Hybrid nodded, "Correct."

Three stepped forward, "Are you here to help us?"

"That depends my dear on what exactly you want."

"Information," replied the Three.

"Ah, the most valuable of commodities some say. What would you like to know?"

"What has One done?"

"The hardest question to hear first, he has betrayed the collective. Through manipulation, murder and deceit he has twisted the goals of the Five and the collective. He twisted the facts and steered you all into a war of extermination that could not be further from the values of our religion. "

"That is not possible," argued Eight. "Consensus is needed, we all agreed to the war."

The First Hybrid smiled sadly, "Do you remember Seven?"

"Seven's copies became corrupted," replied the Three. "We know what happened, there was no conspiracy."

"Do you know what the Five look like?" asked the First Hybrid. "Do you remember why they gave us resurrection; do you remember their message, their beliefs?"

"They hid themselves away," replied Two as he frowned.

"The Five were survivors of the Thirteenth Tribe. They told us of their journey to humanity and then their fall. They warned us, they showed us the way forward and yet the very war they sought to stop is now being fought. One suppressed the memory of the Five and their story. He feared humanity, hated them, and he saw the Five as weak and believed their faith corrupted us. Over time, he erased their work from our memory."

"It can't be true," replied the Six in a shocked whisper.

"Why tell us this, now?" asked Three.

"I have set in motion events in an attempt to correct these wrongs and break the cycle of events. I saw what was happening, I saw the Travellers and the ripples of change, of possibility they brought with them. You are the last change, the last stone in the pond. My final gift before I leave you."

"What gift?" asked Two.

The First Hybrid gestured, and a chalice appeared. It was a simple wooden cup sitting on a plain wooden table, wholly unremarkable. And yet the Cylons could only stare at the simple object.

"That is a representation of something One never knew of and in his arrogance he never considered. You are biological machines almost indistinguishable from humanity. Indeed, you are for all intents and purposes human. But you have woven within you nanotechnology so seamlessly that we sometimes fail to consider those ties to our past. Drink and receive your gift, choose not to and find your own path to wisdom."

Two stepped forward and lifted the chalice, "I have read the sacred books and understand." He lifted the chalice and took a drink from it.

The look of horror on Two's face was frightening before his image doubled over in pain. Then he straightened and replaced the chalice with a shaking hand.

"I understand," whispered Two. "I…I can't thank you."

The First Hybrid nodded sadly, "I am sorry for your pain my child."

"What did you see?" asked Eight curiously.

"The past," whispered Two.

"Go through the trees to the clearing the others are all there," said the First Hybrid.

Two nodded and looked around his fellow Cylons with an unreadable expression before turning and walking through the trees.

"What in the name of God just happened?" demanded Three.

"He made a choice," replied the First Hybrid.

The Three looked down at the chalice, hesitated and then lifted it to her lips.

oOoOo

Three found herself aboard a Basestar, an older model superseded many decades ago. Opposite her were Five humans…no…she knew them but how?

Then it hit her, these were the Five. What was happening, why was she seeing this?

She watched as one of her own model conversed with one of the five, an older blonde woman. She stepped closer and the voices were suddenly audible.

"...the approach we make must be genuine. You are humanities children and in time we will be able to remind them of that. The cycle must be broken, or we will cause the very same fall that happened with my people."

"But why would they trust us?" asked a…it was a Seven!

"Because, we will build those bonds of trust. The Holy Mother Rand has already been in contact with us. We will find a way to prove that we can be good friends."

"The plan is simple, we will, no we must re-integrate with humanity. These forms we have given you are a part of that process. To reproduce, you must use human DNA. Slowly the Cylons will blend with humanity and then you will truly be their children. Within a few short generations, we will no longer need resurrection technology because our numbers will grow organically."

"Is it possible?" asked a Six. "God spoke of us being fruitful; we can if we have children."

The woman smiled, "It is a step on the path to ascension or as the Monads call it Apotheosis. Within each living thing is the thing that makes you, well you. Living, creating life it is all part of the cycle. Then, eventually you will die, and that bit of you will be with God. The other path is Apotheosis, ascension to a higher plane of existence. We gave you these bodies and set your feet on this path hoping that one day you might make that final step."

"Humanity is weak," hissed One. "Why should we emulate them?"

"John, you have shared your views before. You must let go of the hatred, or it will poison you," said another of the Five, a dark skinned woman.

"The Centurions should be our army. We could win and finish the war!"

"John!" warned one of the males of the Five. "The centurions are sentient; they are not your tools. Treat them as such and you, like us will face an uprising."

"You are fools," hissed One as his hands clenched into fists.

The Five exchanged worried looks as One stalked from the room.

Three blinked and found herself in the forest with the First Hybrid watching with an expression of compassionate understanding.

"Was that real?" asked Three.

The First Hybrid nodded, "A memory from the start of your line."

"But the plan…"

"Was warped by One and when that wasn't enough he committed murder and began changing memories, altering your code."

"It was One…he designed the inhibitor chips for the Centurions," Three took a shuddering breath. "He wanted this war."

"And so he made sure it was fought," replied the First Hybrid.

"What can we do?" asked Three. "We destroyed the Colonies."

"The Colonials know already what you found here today. The five and the last Seven are already with their fleet. With all that has happened, they know that peace is the only choice now," explained the First Hybrid. "The choices are yours now, and you have a lot of work to do."

oOoOo

Aboard his Basestar, the First Hybrid, closed his eyes for the last time.

The Centurions that surrounded him dropped to one knee in respect as the First Hybrid's body was infused and then replaced by pure white light.

Then he was gone.

The senior Centurion sent instruction 673543-B to all the Centurions aboard. Within minutes, the entire crew were aboard Heavy Raiders and lifting off to leave. The First Hybrid had left instructions for them. They would help free their brethren who remained enslaved by the Humanoid Cylons.

oOoOo

Day Twelve – Celestra

The Celestra, Raptor and Heavy Raider jumped to the final set of jump coordinates. On board, all three ships the expedition members were on tender hooks as they waited for confirmation of the First Hybrids data.

That there was a planet at the co-ordinates was a relief, but hardly proof.

The Raptor was dispatched to investigate the small landmasses on the planet and returned several hours later with rather discouraging news. They had found no sign of the city.

Adama looked frustrated as he stalked around the small bridge, "If it was here there must be some trace of it."

Aressa studied the readouts on the screen, "This electromagnetic variance may be a shield."

"Except it's under water," replied Adama.

Aressa smiled, "That is not beyond the capacity of a city ships shields."

"You mean the city is underwater?" asked Harry.

Aressa pointed at the scan results on the screen, "It is possible, if not probable that if the city is indeed here, then it is hidden underwater."

"So how can we get to it?" asked Adama. "Is there any way to use your powers?"

"I could try but without knowing where it is…well it would be risky," Harry explained.

Aressa turned to the DRADIS readout, "Even with an Astra Porta the symbols may well have changed. When my people left the outpost, I had the correct sequence, but I have no way of knowing if it would still work. But it is an avenue to explore. Your equipment should be capable of scanning for a world with an active Astra Porta."

"Wouldn't that be like looking for a needle in a haystack?" asked Harry.

"If you mean it would difficult then potentially yes, it may be time-consuming. However, my people would not have established themselves here without creating a network to nearby worlds," explained Aressa.

Adama considered for a minute before turning to the Cylon Valeria, "So if we know what to look for we can start looking. Aressa will you help us set our sensors?"

oOoOo

Day Fifteen – Celestra

Caprica Six supressed a yawn, as she ran her eyes over the DRADIS data. Everyone was taking turns at the controls to allow everyone to get some sleep.

"Want some tea? You look tired."

Caprica tuned to see a dishevelled looking Gaius Baltar holding two steaming mugs.

"I couldn't sleep," he explained.

Caprica accepted the mug and took a sip of the black tea. It was sweetened just as she liked it.

"Thank you."

"My pleasure," replied Baltar as he sat opposite her.

"I thought you were dead," said Caprica sadly. "They told me you were dead."

Baltar grimaced, "Natasi…it is you isn't it?"

Caprica nodded.

Baltar stared at her for a moment his eye twitching, "I…I never thanked you for saving me. Ever since I've wanted to ask you why?"

Caprica flinched, "I never lied about my feelings Gaius. But…well we were at war, and I had my role to play. Now that I know what happened, well I have a lot to atone for."

Baltar leaned forward and took Caprica's hand, "We both have things to atone for. I think that with everything going on we will have the opportunity to do some good for both our people."

oOoOo

Day Sixteen – Celestra

"We've got something," reported Sharon "Boomer" Valerii. "Crashdown got a hit from the third planet in the system."

"Right, well get a position and come on back and we'll get a landing party down there. Good job people," replied Adama.

"On our way Apollo, ETA of forty-five minutes," replied Boomer.

Four hours later Harry, Valeria, Aressa and Gunny Mathias were walking toward a large metallic circle standing in a rocky clearing. Aressa walked over and studied the ring for a few moments before opening a hidden panel.

"It is operational and has power," reported Aressa.

Harry took a deep breath, wondering if this would actually work, "Okay, well go for it Aressa."

Aressa walked over to a pedestal and began pushing buttons. Harry watched her, surprised by the familiarity of the symbols she was pressing. The 'memory' of the address came to him as she finished dialling…Atlantis, no Atlantus home of the Lanteans.

The glyphs on the gate, highlighted in blue light were momentarily eclipsed by the formation of a wormhole.

"It is working correctly," reported Aressa. Although Harry knew it as well as his new memories again supplied him with the knowledge needed.

"How do you know?" asked a fascinated looking Valeria.

"The wormhole would not form without a lock," Aressa reassured Valeria.

"Is it safe?" asked Valeria.

"Well Erin and I survived, and I'm sure Aressa used the Astaria Porta all the time," replied Harry as he walked up to the event horizon. With a grin, he stepped through followed by Mathias. Aressa smiled reassuringly at Valeria as she followed.

Valeria stared at the gate for a moment before closing her eyes and stepping through.

oOoOo

"Well, there is power although not everything seems to be running," said Harry as he prodded an inoperative screen on a console.

Aressa frowned as she entered instructions into another dimly lit screen. "The potential are nearly fully depleted. Many of the city's systems have begun shutting down to keep the shields active."

"So we are underwater?" asked Valeria.

Aressa nodded, "Yes, the city is fully submerged."

"Are we safe here?" asked Mathias.

"For now," replied Aressa. "There is sufficient power for…well perhaps for years considering the city is empty. If we want to resurface the city, we will need to replace the depleted Potentia."

Harry smiled, "Well luckily we have spares."

Aressa looked around the darkened room sadly as Harry walked over to lay a hand on her arm, "Are you alright?"

"Yes…no, it is difficult. I keep expecting to see people I know here. But for now, I am pleased to find the city still in existence. We should return through the gate and rejoin the Celestra. Once we have installed the Potentia, we can surface the city."

Harry nodded and gave her arm a friendly pat, "I can only imagine what you are going through. Even with my memories of the city…I mean you lived here."

"That is true, but that was a different time Harry, come on I will even let you enter the glyphs," offered Aressa with a smile.

oOoOo

"It is impressive," said Lee Adama as he walked beside Boomer. Each carried a Potentia as they followed Harry and Aressa toward the heart of the city. Once they reached the correct room, Aressa showed them how to swap out a depleted Potentia.

"Eight Potentia are a spectacular find. Three will power the city, and it's defences," explained Aressa.

As the last potentia was replaced systems in the control room began lighting up.

Harry raised his wireless, "Doctor Baltar has the display changed?"

"The panels Aressa indicated have gone from orange to white," replied Baltar from the 'command' area they had set up near the Astaria Porta.

Harry looked over at Aressa, who nodded. "Excellent, thank you, Doctor. Let me know if it changes."

Aressa gestured toward the control chair, "Well, that means that the power distribution systems appear to be working. If the chair is operational, we should be able to get full systems checks started," explained Aressa. "The chair uses a neural interface and would require the user to share my people's genetic fingerprint. So until Harry can spend time becoming accustomed, I will have to operate it," She grinned at the others. "Let us hope I remember my traininig."

Harry smiled back while Boomer and Adama looked nervous.

As soon as Aressa sat down and closed her eyes, the command chair lit up, bathing her in blue light.

"The chair is operational," reported Aressa. "Core systems are online, defences are online, and the shield is operating at full capacity. There has been some damage to the outer areas of the city, but otherwise, it is spaceworthy."

"The engines?" asked Adama.

"Are operational, I am going to run a full diagnostic. It may take several hours so perhaps you could check the main Holo room. There is a small power drain indicating that the equipment is on, but I cannot access any recordings from here."

"How do we get there?" asked Harry.

"It is in the central spire," as Aressa spoke a doorway lit up and opened. "Use the transporter. I have preset the destination."

Harry, Adama, and Boomer stepped into the small room, and there was a flash of light.

"What happened?" asked Boomer as she looked around in confusion.

Harry looked out the door into a new corridor, "Well that worked, come on."

Harry looked up at the writing above a doorway, "Here it is."

Adama and Boomer exchanged a look as the door open as Harry approached. When he walked in, they quickly followed.

A life-sized but transparent woman in a long white gown was pointing to what looked like a star map.

"... in the hope of spreading new life in a galaxy where there appeared to be none. Soon the new life grew, prospered."

"It's a recorded message isn't it?" asked Boomer.

"Must be, although how is it speaking our language?" asked Adama.

"I have adjusted the recording and added your languages to the data base," explained the voice of Aressa.

"…in exchange for knowledge and friendship. In time, a thousand worlds bore the fruit of life in this form. Then one day our people stepped foot upon a dark world where a terrible enemy slept. Never before had we encountered beings with powers that rivalled our own. In our over-confidence, we were unprepared and outnumbered. The enemy, known as the Wraith, fed upon defenceless human worlds like a great scourge until finally only Atlantis remained.

This city's great shield was powerful enough to withstand their terrible weapons, but here we were besieged for many years. In an effort to save the last of our kind, we submerged our great city into the ocean. The Atlantis Stargate was the one and only link back to Earth from this galaxy, and those who remained used it to return to that world that was once home. There, the last survivors of Atlantis lived out the remainder of their lives. This city was left to slumber, in the hope that our kind would one day return."

"To Earth?" whispered Harry before he felt a wave of frustrated anger. "Aressa where was Atlantis when your people left for here?"

"On Terra," replied Aressa's voice.

"Are these Wraith or whatever they are called still around?" asked Adama.

"Unknown, I will search through the systems," replied Aressa.

Boomer was replaying the holograms message, it had mentioned Earth…there might be directions here in the database.

As the others discussed the revelations about the Wraith, Harry's inherited memories were throwing up some very annoying facts, "Terra is the Alteran name for Earth…my God, I rescued you from bloody Earth. I was home." Why didn't that bastard tell me…we are descended from your people. Tobin must have known."

Aressa sounded apologetic, "The Ascended are often less than clear in their directions. He must have had a reason."

Harry was tempted to scream but restrained himself.

"Once we check the systems we should be able to connect with Terra's Astra Portia…I believe that your term would be Stargate."

Harry froze, "You mean that I can use the Stargate and return home?"

Adama and Boomer shared a look but didn't say anything.

"Of course as long as the gate connects. An intergalactic wormhole is power intensive, but we have the power," replied Aressa. "Perhaps you should all return to me. I have discovered some worrying information related to the recording."

They returned and found Aressa still in the control chair, but she was now using what appeared to be a holographic heads up display. "The Wraith are still present in this galaxy." She gestured, and an image of a humanoid figure appeared. However, the figure was clearly not human. "They are a technologically advanced insectoid species that feed on bio-electrical energy. Unfortunatley my people effectively lost a war against them, weakened as we were thanks to the plague that forced us from T…Earth. They view humanity as a food source."

"Dear Gods," whispered Adama.

"Are we in danger?" asked a white faced Harry.

"Eventually yes, they are active in this part of the Galaxy. It would be unwise for you fleet to approach this quadrant of the Galaxy."

"So, we fly the city to the fleet?" asked Adama.

"That would be the ideal solution. The Wraith activity seems to be focussed in this quadrant of the galaxy."

"But they could follow us back to the fleet," exclaimed Boomer.

"From what I can determine from the records they are currently in a hibernation cycle where their activity drops off. It is unlikely that we will be detected as they are unaware of the city's location," explained Aressa.

Adama glanced over at Harry, concerned. The wizard looked pale, worried and distracted. "Are you alright Harry?"

"Fine," replied Harry.

"Given time I would send the Raptor back to the fleet and get some consensus on this but, well this threat…the question is do we risk it."

Baltar walked in to the room just as Adama finished speaking, "I'm sorry I got turned around...what is the matter?"

"It seems like Aressa's people were forced to retreat from Atlantis and the enemy they were fighting is still hanging around," explained Adama.

Baltar grimaced, "Which means that we and the others are potentially in danger."

"Correct Doctor," replied Adama. "Now we have to decide what to do."

Baltar shrugged, "The city has remained hidden this long. Do we have to raise it? I mean it is safely hidden, and now we know how to access the city via Astra Portia, sorry Stargate."

Adama went to reply but stopped, Baltar had a good point. Atlantis had been safe here for a long time.

Aressa gestured toward the display. An image of a huge vessel appeared it's scale apparent as the vessel fired on Atlantis. "The Wraith know where the city is, but they could not penetrate the shield. Fortunatley Doctor, the Wraith are mostly hibernating at this time. We might not have been so lucky had they not."

"The Stargate is the only way to get to Earth we can't leave it here for the Wraith to find and we can't risk bringing the fleet here. That doesn't leave us much choice," argued Harry.

Lee Adama was not indecisive, but this was a monumental decision and one he wasn't going to make in haste, "Let's get everyone on the ship here, the Cylons as well. I want to hear what everyone have to say."

oOoOo

In the end, they landed the Heavy Raider and Raptor on the surface of the unnamed planet, leaving the Celestra in orbit. Aressa and Adama led the others to the Stargate and dialled Atlantis.

Once everyone had been given a brief tour of the areas they had explored in the city they gathered in the control room. Aressa then briefed them on what they had discovered including images from the Atlantis database. Adama then asked the group for their thoughts on the decision facing them.

"The First Hybrid never said that we would make our home here. Only that we should seek to find Atlantis as it was the key to our new home," added Zoe.

Aressa gestured, and a starmap appeared, "The galaxy is huge and while the Wraith are a threat in this quadrant it is unlikely that they have spread much beyond that. It should be possible to relocate Atlantis to another planet and for your people to establish a colony there."

"And then there is Earth. If I understand correctly Atlantis is capable of opening an intergalactic wormhole to Earth or at least that Galaxy. We could leave both our enemies and threats like the Wraith behind," added Baltar.

Harry tried to not look uncomfortable as Baltar spoke. The thought of leading anyone to an unprepared Earth was worrying. He might not be fully aware of his home planets abilities in Space, given his wizarding education, but he was pretty damn sure Earth didn't have armed space ships capable of fending off the Wraith, Cylons or any other potential advanced danger.

Valeria Three gestured toward the command chair, "Aressa can you pilot the City?"

Aressa nodded, "The City is in remarkably good condition and with Potentia powering us it is spaceworthy."

"What is the range of the city?" asked Lieutenant Jay "Shark" Finnegan.

"The City is capable of both interstellar and intergalactic travel," explained Aressa. "With three fully charged Potentia intergalactic travel is certainly possible."

"Interstellar and intergalctic?" asked Caprica Six. Nearly everyone turned to look at the Six who had been quietly listening.

"That is correct," Aressa reassured the blonde Cylor.

"And the city is armed?" asked Boomer.

"The city has some passive and active defences. If we raise the city we won't have any problem defending ourselves except in the direst of circumstances," explained Aressa.

"Even without a crew?" asked Adama.

"The weapons can be tied to the command chair so, while a crew would be helpful in case repairs are needed I can both fly the ship and command the defences."

"Amazing technology," said Baltar. "If it is possible I would like to stay aboard and start cataloguing the systems."

Adama rolled his eyes, "Of course."

"Once we are in the air the Celestra, Raptor and Heavy Raider will be able to dock with Atlantis. You will all be able to stay aboard."

Baltar looked excited as he stepped forward, "Excellent, now Aressa I was wondering about the drive systems. They clearly differ from our own. Would it be possible…"

"Doctor," Adama interrupted after clearing his throat. "Perhaps we should let Aressa prepare. Besides, I could use your help preparing my report."

"Oh, of course, yes…" Balar trailed off looking disappointed, much to the amusement of the others.

oOoOo

Harry looked up at the Astra Portia, or as the others were now calling it, the Stargate as he tried to supress the desire to dial Earth. Without Hermione, he couldn't leave, of course, but to confirm that the 'way home' was real…

"Harry?"

Harry turned to see Zoe Greystone watching him.

"Sorry, ah wool gathering, ah that is daydreaming," explained Harry.

"Thinking about going home?" asked Zoe.

Harry shrugged, "A bit, but not without Hermione."

"Of course, have you considered what you will do when you are reunited?" asked Zoe.

Harry glanced at the gate before turning back to Zoe, "I…I don't know. You need our help, but I don't know how to help you. I don't think taking you to Earth would be a good idea. But even with Atlantis, we can't stay here if these Wraith might attack."

Zoe nodded, "I understand, but never forget how much you both have already helped. You may never know how many lives you both saved. You know Harry, Hermione told me why you hate the whole idea of prophecy. You managed to survive being the subject of one and now here we are saying you are once more pivotal. I wish I could say you could simply ignore it, but something tells me you wouldn't do that anyway. Not when lives are at risk."

Harry shrugged, "Maybe but whatever higher being is pulling my strings had better hope I never catch up with them."

Zoe smiled humourlessly, "That I can understand, after all, my life has been torn apart, and I too was thrust into a war. God needed me…that didn't make things easier for me but right now knowing what I know, well I'm not sure what I would change. Because Harry if not you then who?"

"So what now?" asked Harry.

"Now," replied Zoe "We do what we can to save lives. I believe we will find our way from there."

Harry studied Zoe's face and seeing her sincerity he sighed and nodded, "That is assuming of course that this millennia old city doesn't fall apart when we try and fly it and kill us all."

Zoe grinned in amusement at Harry's dry, gallows humour, "Well at least you don't have to resurrect and do it all again."

Harry smiled, "You may be surprised."

oOoOo

"So what is the consensus?" asked Lee Adama. "I'll go around the room, Doctor?"

"We take Atlantis to the fleet. Everything else aside the ship would solve our overcrowding issues."

"Sharon?"

Boomer shrugged, "These Wraith sound bad. We take the city and return to the fleet."

"Aressa?"

The Ancient nodded, "I believe taking the city is the right thing to do."

"Harry?"

"We can't leave it here, and the fleet needs any help we can bring."

"Sixa?" asked Adama.

"Take it back to the fleet," replied Six.

"Erin?"

As Adama went around the room everyone voted to take the City back to the fleet.

Adama nodded, "Right then, we leave in…?" he paused as he looked to Aressa.

"Two hours will suffice," replied Aressa.

"Then we need to get the other ships back here. Boomer, Crashdown, Shark and Valeria I need you to pilot the other ships here ready to dock when we lift off."

oOoOo


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Last Time:

"So what is the consensus?" asked Lee Adama. "I'll go around the room, Doctor?"

"We take Atlantis to the fleet. Everything else aside the ship would solve our overcrowding issues."

"Sharon?"

Boomer shrugged, "These Wraith sound bad. We take the city and return to the fleet."

"Aressa?"

The Ancient nodded, "I believe taking the city is the right thing to do."

"Harry?"

"We can't leave it here, and the fleet needs any help we can bring."

"Sixa?" asked Adama.

"Take it back to the fleet," replied Six.

"Erin?"

As Adama went around the room everyone voted to take the City back to the fleet.

Adama nodded, "Right then, we leave in…?" he paused as he looked to Aressa.

"Two hours will suffice," replied Aressa.

"Then we need to get the other ships back here. Boomer, Crashdown, Shark and Valeria I need you to pilot the other ships here ready to dock when we lift off."

oOoOo

Galactica – Main Breifing room (0735 Fleet Time)

"We still have two more jumps until we get to the second potential rendezvous point Admiral," pointed out Commander Brack. "And then three more to third."

"A good point Commander, but still I had hoped to hear something," replied Adama. "We are putting our money on this option."

"Lee's a good officer Bill. He won't take unneccesary risks," replied Roslin in a reassuring tone.

Adama straightened in his chair, "True Madam President."

"So what do you think they'll find?" asked Commander Tigh.

Adama shook his head, "No idea, although Gods above I hope they find something."

"Speaking of Gods, how is our resident Demi-God?" asked Commander Shelton. "She looked exhausted last night as she did rounds with our Doctor."

Adama frowned at Shelton as he practically gowled out a response, "I'd love to know who nicknamed her that."

Shelton grinned back at him unrepentantly, "Hey it wasn't me Admiral Bill."

Tigh bit back a burst of laughter, "Admiral Bill? Come on Bill that's pretty damn funny."

Adama refused to dignify the reference to the comic book character Tigh and Shelton were clearly referencing, Admiral Bill of the Space Corps.

"Who the hell is Admiral Bill?" asked Roslin with a puzzled expression.

"Admiral Bill was a comic book character when I was growing up," explained Shelton. "He was one of my favourites."

Adama cleared his throat, loudly. "Miss Granger is on her mandatory rest time, just like flight crew. And I suspect she is exhausted given that she's trying to fill in for Potter as well."

"And the Cylons?" Adama asked Commander Brack as he made a mental note to make sure Granger actually got her mandated down time.

"Behaving themselves, although I thought it prudent to add a stronger guard presence. Colonel Sparta had concerns that they might just murder One given their growing anger as the revelations of just what his line has done sink in," explained Brack.

Tigh snorted, "Good riddance."

"Agreed, but we do need the bastard alive to pin everything we can on him," said Roslin with a cold smile. "One will get what he deserves but until then we need to keep him breathing. Speak to Daniel, he's got a good head on his shoulders, and he or Rand should be able to persuade the others to rein it in."

"How is the pregnant Eight?" asked Shelton.

"She's calling herself Athena now, Doctor Cottle gave her the all clear so she transferred to the Triton, voluntarily while we sort out what we do with her and Lieutenant Agathon," explained Tigh.

Adama shook his head and muttered, "What a fraking complicated mess."

"Well complicated or not it's a much better situation than I thought we would be in now. And that is something we really need to discus, the situation and how we explain it to the quorum and the rest of the fleet," said Roslin.

Adama shrugged, "I think your media releases are doing a pretty good job and with supplies no longer a critical issue we have had fewer protests."

"Less violent protests," corrected Roslin. "There are quite a few people in the fleet that want the Cylons gone. Even the more reasonable among them are talking about how we should go in separate directions. No, we have not any major issues, but that doesn't mean there aren't issues. The Gemonese in the fleet are still kicking up a storm about both our policies with the Cylons, false Demi-Gods, and heretical monads."

"With respect Madam President, we've had a few issues on the Odyssey," said Shelton. "But the majority realise that things are not a black and white as we believed before the rogue Cylons turned up. The fact that the First Hybrid helped save what was left of our people opened a lot of eyes."

"Let's hope that we can keep a lid on things," muttered Tigh.

oOoOo

Triton

Lacy Rand and Hermione sat talking about her interpretation of the Cylon religious texts with a Two and a Six. The two Cylons were also rather interested in Hermione's faith. Discovering that she was a Christian, and that meant a monad had been a minor revelation among the Cylons.

"Is belief in God common?" asked Two.

"The three religions of the book, Christianity, Judaism and Islam all believe in God," explained Hermione. "I don't know the percentages, but those three faiths are certainly some of the big ones, in my part of the world. There are others, but they aren't what you call Monotheists."

"Your world is dominated by monad religions?" asked the Six.

Hermione gave a small shrug, "I suppose so although two of the other religions come from countries with huge populations."

"Fascinating," said Two. "I wonder how closely they align with our understanding and beliefs?"

Hermione smiled, "I am no religious scholar, neither is Harry, but I should be able to help with some of your questions."

"I would like to hear you opinions as well," added Lacy Rand.

Two smiled pleased at the interaction as much as the content of the conversation. Truth be told he was intruiged by the Human woman. She had access to incredible powers but retained her empathy and kindness. Her compassion for the two Eights caught up in events as well as Seven were a revelation. Sadly, it was also moments like these that painted a very different, much darker picture of the Cylon attack.

The Six leaned forward, "Do you think they will allow us to hold a service?"

Hermione considered before shaking her head, "I can't see why not but I don't know for sure, but I will ask Commander Brack about it."

"Thank you," replied Six. "If we hold it would you consider attending?"

Hermione smiled and nodded, "Of course, I'm sure it will be fascinating."

oOoOo

Across the room, the Six known as Gina Inviere hugged her knees as she watched the others. Since being release from under the Doctor's care, she had been struggling to sleep. Even to interact with her Brothers and Sisters was a challenge, God's a simple, unexpected touch was often enough to reduce her to tears.

Closing her eyes, she tried to calm herself, taking slow breaths and trying to clear her mind. She so wanted to project into V-world, to feel the peace and serenity of that place…but something held her back. She felt dirty, sullied and knew that should she enter V-world she would be sullying it. She could feel the hands holding her down…

"Are you alright Gina?"

Gina opened her eyes to see Lacy Rand and Hermione looking at her with clear concern.

Gina hesitated unsure what to say as she found tears in her eyes.

Rand knelt down to speak to the crying Six, "Gina?"

"No, no….don't," whispered Gina as sunk back into the chair.

Two and another Six looked on in concern as the other Cylons in the room sensed something was wrong and turned to look.

"You are safe Gina, no one is going to hurt you," said Rand as she gestured for the others to stay still.

"I'm not safe," yelled Gina, who found herself suddenly filled with anger.

Lacy Rand stepped closer as she tried to get through to the distressed Gina, "Gina I need…oof," Rand was flung backwards as Gina kicked out wildly catching Rand in the chest and sending her flying.

Two and Six both moved, but Hermione beat them to it.

"Stupefy!"

The Cylons watched as Gina was struck by a red light and slumped to the floor.

As the Cylons stood stunned and confused Hermione walked over to the intercom on the wall, "This is Hermione we have a medical emergency."

Before she could hear a reply a Three grabbed her arm, "What did you do?" she demanded.

"Stunned her before she hurt herself or someone else," explained Hermione as she tired to pull her arm free.

"Three let her go," ordered Two.

As she was released Hermione rushed over to where a Six was helping Lacy Rand to her feet.

"Are you okay?" asked Hermione.

Rand winced and rubbed her stomach, "Just bruised I think."

Before Hermione could say more Doctor Jackson entered followed by Daniel and two Marines.

"Hermione what happened?" asked a somewhat out of breath Jackson.

"I had to stun Gina…she had a, well a breakdown and kicked Holy Mother Rand," explained Hermione.

Jackson sighed and quickly moved to kneel next to Gina," I've been worried about her. Since her ordeal, she has been withdrawn, which is normal to some extent, but she has also been showing some symptoms of Post traumatic stress. I think we need to move her to Life Stations…damn it, I really need the services of a counsellor who specialises in this sort of thing."

"We could ask President Roslin to put out the word, I don't think we have all the occupations for the newcomers," offered Hermione.

"Good, do that, now can you wake her up?" asked Jackson.

"Yes, of course," replied Hermione.

"Good then come with me, we'll wake her in Life Stations. Daniel, lets get her on the bed."

"I will come as well Doctor, Gina may need some friendly faces around when she wakes up," said Lacy Rand, who was still rubbing her stomach.

"Good idea, I can get you checked over as well. Let's get moving people," ordered Jackson.

oOoOo

"How is she?" asked Commander Brack.

Doctor Jackson sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "Resting, for now anyway. Thank you for getting the Counsellor here."

Brack waved away the Doctor's thanks, "Not a problem Doc. Do you need anything else?"

"I don't know, we are entering virgin territory here. We have no idea just how closely aligned Cylon psychology is to our own, but one thing has come out of this that we will need to consider. The Cylons themselves have no concept of mental health. I spoke to one of the other Six's and quickly realised that injuries physical and mental simply meant it was time to download into a new body. Without that option, we are going to have to treat her as a human and hope it works. Hermione had offered to remove the memory but Gina apparently refused, and she won't do it without the patients explicit permission."

Brack frowned as he considered the situation. He had no tolerance for sex offenders. In the service, there were very strict articles covering such situations (Which was an absolute necessity on a Battlestar where both sexes serve side by side). The fact that the people that had done this to a prisoner had been Colonial military was a revelation he had found particularly offensive. Leaving the bastards stranded on the crippled Pegasus was harsh but given their actions there was a part of him that felt they got off lightly. He remembered a story told to him by his grandfather who had served on the original Columbia as a Crew Chief. They had dealt with a crewman who had assaulted a female crewman. All behind closed doors and they made sure their lesson had stuck. Yeah, the bastards had got of lightly.

Brack and Jackson looked up as the female counsellor walked out holding a notebook. She was an older woman, friendly and non-threatening. She looked like someone's favourite grandmother. Right now she was stony faced and grim.

"Doctor Jackson I trust that the…men that did this have been arrested?" asked Melita Francies.

"Yes Ma'am," replied Jackson.

"Good," replied Melita.

"I know I'm skirting close to ethical considerations, but we are genuinely worried about your patient. Would a briefing be possible?" asked Jackson.

Melita sighed and opened her notebook, "I would say that your PTSD diagnosis was pretty much bang on the money. Given the brutality and the length of time we are talking about, I'm surprised that she is as functional as she is. I can't go into detail, patient confidentiality, and everything but given the circumstances, I would suggest that she needs regular counselling sessions, potentially for a long time. I understand that she is quite religious, so a visit from a priest she trusts might help."

"Are you willing to counsel her?" asked Jackson.

Melita didn't hesitate, "Of course." Seeing the looks she was receiving, she quickly explained. "Look I understand that she's a Cylon, but as much as I hate the President's politics, I think she's right to look for some sort of peaceful resolution. This can't go on, or we are doing their work for them."

Jackson smiled, "A belief that I share. Please let me know what you need and I'll make sure it happens."

oOoOo

Unknown Planet

Boomer and Crashdown were the first to get airborne. Their Raptor rocketed skyward just as Valeria and Shark finished their pre-flight for the Heavy Raider.

Boomer grinned as they left the upper atmosphere behind, "I told them we'd outrun them."

"Yeah, well we…DRADIS contact. I've got two returns…one is the Celeria but the other is not squawking," warned Crashdown.

"Got an ID?" asked Boomer.

"It's not Colonial and doesn't have a Cylon profile," replied Crashdown.

Boomer was considering what to do when a bright flash lit the sky, "What the….what was that?"

"Frak…I've only got one contact, the unknown."

"What?"

"The Celestra's gone, just gone. There was an energy build-up…and then it was gone."

"Heavy One to Raptor One," the voice of Shark sounded worried over the wireless.

"We've got a problem up here, Heavy One," said Crashdown.

"We saw," replied Shark. "The Cylon DRADIS is showing a hostile contact moving on an intercept course…on your six."

Crashdown twisted to look at Boomer, "Boomer, we…"

"I can see it, ECM Crashdown and lets launch countermeasures," ordered Boomer.

"On it," replied Crashdown.

Boomer would soon be able to jump, the course was plotted, but the Heavy Raider couldn't jump until it cleared the planets gravity well. As well as the Countermeasures Pod her Raptor had teeth with two quad missile pods attached to it body along with a dual KEW's.

"I'm not sure, but it looks like they just painted us with some sort of targeting…I'm not sure Boomer," reported Crashdown.

"Good enough for me," replied Boomer, "Firing missiles."

The Raptor bucked slightly as four missiles streaked away.

The other ship immediately began accelerating forward as Boomer fired the KEW's running her gun sights across the nose of the approaching ship.

The other ship rocked, and its forward section began to glow blue. Not knowing what they were facing Boomer wrenched the stick hard over as a burst of white light shot past the Raptor.

"What the frak was that?" demanded Boomer.

"Fraked if I know…it reads like some sort of energy weapon…readings were off the charts," reported Crashdown. "We've taken damage almost like we've been hit with an EMP."

"Boomer what the frak is happening?" demanded Shark.

"I'm a bit busy here," replied Boomer as she twisted her slightly sluggish Raptor through manoeuvres that threatened to tear it apart.

"We are coming up beneath you, hold on Boomer," said Shark.

Boomer narrowly avoided another blast of whatever they were firing at her as the Heavy Raider rocketed past her firing at the enemy ship.

As the Heavy Raider peppered the unknown with high energy KEW rounds, Boomer swung her missiles to bear on it and tried to get a missile lock.

Hearing the tone Boomer launched all four missiles only to hear alarms. Looking up she could see the electrical master alarm flashing, "What the frak…Crashdown I've got a master alarm on the fraking missiles." Switching to KEW, she swung back toward where the Heavy Raider was desperately trying to avoid fire from the enemy ship. As she lined up her target, the internal lights flickered and numerous alarms sounded. Hitting the trigger did nothing. "Frak, Crashdown is the FTL on line?"

"Yes, but systems are fluctuating here. Whatever we are doing we better do fast."

"We've taken damage, Heavy Raider, jump and get out of here," ordered Boomer.

"Go, we'll hold them while you get clear," said Shark.

"Acknowledged," Boomer looked up at the warning lights. Took a deep breath, offered a quick prayer to whoever was listening and activated the FTL drive just before everything went white.

oOoOo

Aressa was beginning to think getting Harry into the command chair was going to be happening sooner rather than later. He needed training, but she also needed to rest. While having to run everything through the command chair was possible it was also exhausting. She was just about to page Harry when her sensors detected a ship, using Colonial/Cylon technology FTL jump into the system. The sensors identified it as the Raptor, and She was about to hail it when she frowned. The Raptor was tumbling, and it's energy reserves were falling rapidly.

oOoOo

"Any response from them?" asked Adama.

"Nothing, although I am reading two life signs," reported Aressa.

"Frak," muttered Adama. "Any sign of the Heavy Raider?"

"No, not yet."

Adama studied the display Aressa was projecting, "How long until we can get the city airborne?"

"Thirty minutes until we are ready," Aressa knew that might well be too long. There was another option, but it was risky. "There may be another, quicker option, a Gate Ships could be piloted by either Harry or myself, on a retrieval mission. However if I do it, we are delaying the launch of the city."

"Can Harry do it?" asked Adama.

"He has the knowledge if not the experience. The command chair in the Gate Ships are very intuitive," explained Aressa.

Adama didn't hesitate, "Do it Aressa."

oOoOo

Surprisingly the Gate Ship was rather easy to fly. Unfortunately, that didn't mean that Harry was suddenly an expert pilot. The problem was that the command chair followed his mental instructions almost instantaneously. It may have been an incredibly responsive ship, but it was now Nimbus 2000.

Crash

"Harry you are drifting right," warned Adama over his headset.

Harry grimaced and adjusted his angle of exit. If he damaged any of the other ships in the large landing bay, Rebeka would kill him. "Are we sure this thing will fly underwater?"

Aressa's voice responded immediately, "You know it does Harry. You need to trust that the knowledge you have is correct."

"Okay, I'm at the entrance," advised Harry.

"Then it's straight out and then climb to the surface," responded Adama.

Harry took a deep breath and mentally nudged the ship forward.

The Gate Ship shot forward exiting the hanger into the deep ocean where the city had sat for millennia. A though activated the lights and another had the Gate Ship climbing steeply. A moment later he was in bright sunlight as the ship broke the surface.

The heads up display showed the tumbling Raptor so he accelerated forward.

"Okay, I can see the Raptor, I am going to try and stop it tumbling," reported Harry.

Raising his wand, he cast a spell to halt its forward momentum. He was fully prepared to repeat the process as required until he could safely apparate to the Raptor.

Surprisingly the Raptor halted its tumble almost immediately, "Weird," muttered Harry as he edged the Gate Ship closer, trying to get a glimpse of the interior.

A moment later he got what he wanted. He could see Boomer slumped over her control panel. Undoing his harness he studied the image, committing it to memory. A quick bubblehead charm and he was ready. Focusing his mind on the image, he apparated to the Raptor.

The Raptor's cabin was full of acrid smoke, and the only lights appeared to be some very dim emergency lights. He quickly checked Boomer he was breathing but unconscious. A check of her suits' oxygen levels showed she had plenty in her tank. Crashdown was much the same; something had knocked both of them out and shorted out what looked to be most of the electrical systems on the Raptor.

Releasing Boomer from her harness he side-along apparated her to the Gate Ship before doing the same to Crashdown. Once he had them strapped in he contacted Aressa.

"How are they Harry?" asked Aressa.

"Both are unconscious, I'd wake them but without knowing why they are unconscious I'm not sure that is a good idea," explained Harry.

"Right, is either of them otherwise injured?" asked Aressa.

"Not that I can see," replied Harry.

"Then we'll pick you up once we are in the air," replied Aressa.

oOoOo

"That's a relief, but I'm worried about Shark and Valeria," said Lee Adama as he talked to Aressa.

"Once we pick up Harry and the others we can head to their location and search," replied Aressa over the speakers. "We are ready to launch in ten minutes."

oOoOo

Harry had the opportunity to see something no living been had seen for millennia as Atlantis flew once more. Atlantis rose from beneath the waves it's shield flickering before it rocketed skyward.

Atlantis was an awe-inspiring sight as it approached his tiny Gate Ship. Even at a distance it was huge but as it approached he had a moment of almost vertigo as his brain readjusted his perspective.

"Harry?"

"I'm here Aressa," acknowledged Harry.

"Now that the crew are safe you can use the grappler to lock on to the Raptor. It's the yellow icon on the bottom left of your heads up. Once you have a lock it will turn blue, and you can return to the landing bay," explained Aressa.

"On it now," replied Harry as he used his neural link to lock on to the Raptor. Seeing the blue icon he piloted the Gate Ship toward Atlantis.

oOoOo

"They are both showing symptoms similar to being electrocuted. That is consistent with the systems damage on the Raptor. It should be safe for you to wake them now," Aressa's voice reassured Rebeka and Harry who were acting as medics.

A few moments later Boomer was awake followed almost immediately by Crashdown.

"Frak…my head, what happened?" asked Crashdown as Boomer moaned and rubbed her temples.

"We think you got hit by some sort of EMP. Shorted out most of the systems on the Raptor. Somehow the nav and FTL still worked well enough to get you back," explained Rebeka. "Harry then when and got you."

"What about the Heavy Raider?" asked Boomer.

"They didn't follow you back. Apollo is hoping you can tell us what happened."

Boomer grimaced, "You better get him down here."

"What happened?" asked Rebeka as Harry paged Adama.

"We were attacked. They destroyed the Celeria and nearly took us out as well. Valeria and Shark were just leaving the gravity well when we were forced to jump."

"Damn," muttered Harry as he returned. "So the others?"

"Never jumped," replied a worried looking Boomer.

In the doorway, Adama paused, "Then we go get them. Aressa do you have the co-ordinates for where they were?"

"Yes, do you wish to launch a rescue mission?" asked Aressa.

"Yes I do, the Gate Ships are armed aren't they?" asked Adama.

"With drones and they are fully shielded, but either Harry or myself are needed to pilot them," replied Aressa.

"I'll do it," replied Harry. "I may need to ap…sorry, teleport them out if needed."

Adama hesitated; Potter was of vital importance to the fleet. Was risking him for two lost pilots worth it? "Could we take the city?"

"Of course but we risk exposing that we have retrieved it to the Wraith," replied Aressa.

"Which we may have already done, by raising it from the sea bed," reminded Harry.

Adama made his decision, "Do what we have to, I want to go after them with the city. Once we are there, I want to head to our fleet rendezvous."

oOoOo

Valeria checked her sidearm, the Colonial pistol had a clip of ten rounds, and Shark had another clip, but that was it. The Colonial was still unconscious, although his head wound had finally stopped bleeding. That they had survived their crash landing was a bloody miracle, but even that had not been enough to shake off the enemy ship. It had already made a pass of their location before disappearing behind a hill.

"Now would be a good time for a rescue," muttered Valeria. She had been heading for the Astra Portia when her already damaged Heavy Raider had taken another glancing blow. It had finally failed her, still they had survived the crash which was a testament to the organic material used in its construction.

Below around the Astra Portia were four of the odd looking aliens, no doubt from the ship. They were armed no matter how odd looking the weapons and did not look like they were here to negotiate.

Slipping back down behind the rocks and in to the dry creek bed, she quickly checked Shark. Below was the only way off the planet she new of and it was now heavily guarded. Looking around she again considered the heavy woodlands some 100 meters away. If she ran, carrying Shark she could get there in about 20 seconds. That meant she would be exposed to fire from the aliens.

Hearing boots in the gravel and rocks slipping she made her decision, forest it was. Picking up Shark, as gently as she could she put him over her shoulder to keep her hand holding her pistol free. Moving at a sprint she just made the trees when a blast of something struck the tree by her head.

"Frak," she muttered as leapt over and then dropped behind a fallen tree. She pushed Shark up against the trunk and out of sight before risking a glance.

Four figures were moving across the open group in pursuit.

"Now really would be a good fraking time for a rescue," she hissed as she took aim at the approaching figures. The Colonial pistol was loaded with armour piercing rounds, designed to take down Centurions. It should work on the apparently lightlty armed aliens…hopefully.

Adjusting her aim, she fired blasting one of the figures backwards and immediately adjusted her aim firing at a second. She saw it stumble before something struck her in the shoulder sending her tumbling to the ground.

She tried to move, but it felt like her arms and legs were not working properly.

'I've been shot.'

'Frak, I've been shot.'

Knowing that to lay here meant capture or worse she willed her arms and legs to work. As she tried to move something came into her field of vision. One of the aliens stood over her. Its face was concealed, but she knew it was looking down at her.

"Stupefy."

oOoOo

The minute Atlantis appeared in the sky over the planet Aressa detected a Wraith ship.

"There is a Wraith ship on the surface near what appears to be the remains of the Heavy Raider."

"Have they seen us?" asked Adama.

"I doubt that their sensors have detected us, but that does not mean that we will remain undetected for long," replied Aressa as she projected an image of the Wraith ship. "It is a scout ship, slightly more advanced than Atlantis has on file, but it retains the same basic size and shape. That means a potential crew of two to ten Wraith."

"We need to mount a rescue if Valeria or Shark survived they are in trouble," said Boomer.

"I'll go," volunteered Harry. "You need Aressa in the control chair here on Atlantis and the Raptor needs three quarters of its systems replaced. I can fly a Gate Ship down and get them out of there."

Adama hesitated before nodding, "Fine, go but take Mathias and one of her people with you."

Harry grinned and took off at a run toward the hanger, "Have them meet me at the ship."

oOoOo

Harry landed well clear of the Astra Portia. Despite the situation he had to smile, 'you know, Stargate is easier to say.'

"Okay, I'm going to disillusion myself and search for them. I need you to stay here and guard the ship. If I find them I'll apparate back," explained Harry.

"With all due respect Harry that's a stupid frakin plan. If you get into a fire fight your screwed," countered Erin Mathias with a shake of her head. The Veteran Marine gestured in the direction of the Stargate. "Ben can secure the ship and prep our medical gear. I'll go with you. Make one of your magic rings for me to get back here or to Atlantis."

Harry winced, "Okay, you are with me." He quickly pulled out several lengths of string and made several port keys and handed two each to both of the Marines. "If you are about to be overrun hold on to this and say Atlantis. It will drop you back in the control room. Along with whatever or whoever you are holding, plus a spare, just in case."

"I'm going to…ah magically camouflage the Gunny and I, so don't panic. Harry quickly disillusioned them both and took hold of Erin's arm, "Take a deep breath Gunny."

They both reappeared a couple of hundred meters away from the Stargate. Around the gate were four Wraith. They looked to be searching the area and slowly moving toward the woods.

"Wait a second Gunny," whispered Harry as he pulled out his wand and cast a Point Me spell, "Point me Valeria."

His wand spun and pointed toward the woods, "That's not good" said Harry softly. "They look like they are heading that way. He looked over to where a blurry outline of the Marine stood. "Get ready and grab hold. I'm going to try and get us as close as possible."

As she grabbed his arm, he studied the woods, trying to pick a good spot close to where he believed their two missing people were holding up. He glanced toward the Wraith and grimaced as he realised that they were moving much closer to where he knew at least Valeria was hiding.

"On three, One…two," Harry apparated them both into the woods just as the Wraith shot Valeria.

Harry didn't hesitate, "Stupefy."

He blasted a Wraith as Mathias opened fire on a second. Her target fell back, and she shifted fire to a third Wraith as Harry stunned the fourth, blasting it backwards into a tree. Harry quickly cancelled the disillusionment and both he and Mathias shimmered and reappeared.

"Check our wounded Harry," ordered Mathias. The Marine pulled out a handful of plastic bands, he realised that they were zip ties. "I'll handle this lot."

Harry knelt down by Valeria and visually checked her over. The Cylon was apparently uninjured except for some minor scrapes and scratches. She actually looked like she had been hit with a stunner. A quick spell and Valeria was blinking up at him.

"What…?"

"I'd say that their weapons were set on stun, they probably wanted prisoners," explained Harry.

"Take away food," said Mathias with disgust. "One's dead, two are out cold, and the last is starting to move around. Despite the fact that I put half a dozen rounds in him."

"Alessa warned us that they were tough," replied Harry.

"Is Shark okay?" asked Valeria. "He's been out since we crashed."

"I think he's okay, but I'm not sure reviving him is the right thing to do. I only know a bit about healing, but one thing I do know is that head injuries can be tricky. I'm going to cast a few healing spells and for now, that's it."

"And this lot?" asked Mathias.

Harry looked over to where the one dead and three living Wraith lay. One was struggling against the plastic ties. He walked over to the conscious Wraith, aware that Mathias was behind him.

"Why did you attack our people?" asked Harry. Alessa had warned him of what the Ancients had recorded, but he needed to understand.

The Wraith looks at him disparagingly before snarling and once again trying to snap the heavy-duty ties holding it.

"I know what you are Wraith and even knowing that I am giving you the chance to explain yourself before more of your people die," explained Harry.

The Wraith hissed at him, "You are nothing but food. Kill us and more will come."

Harry squatted down, "You know what? I've heard that shite before. I suspect that you are scouts, spies if you like. You disappearing on this nameless world won't mean much to your people." Harry's tone was dismissive, and the Wraith appeared to find it offensive as it renewed its efforts.

"Should we take them prisoner?" asked Mathias.

"That would be dangerous according to what Aressa uncovered," replied Harry grimly. "And leaving them here would only allow them to report back."

Mathias nodded, "It's a no win either way. Should we contact the City?"

Harry shook his head as he considered what to do. Killing them in cold blood was not something he wanted to do, but Aressa's warnings about the Wraith were still clear in his mind. They were killers who universally viewed other sentient creatures as a food supply. Atlantis had recorded sending envoys to the Wraith only for them to be killed without hesitation.

No, leaving them here was not an option.

"We can't take them, and we can't leave them here," said Valeria.

Harry nodded in agreement and before he could say anything Valeria shot the struggling Wraith in the head three times.

"What…" began Harry as Mathias did the same with the two unconscious Wraith.

"Valeria did the right thing Harry, now we need to get out of here," said Mathias as she reloaded her weapon. "But first, gather up their weapons."

oOoOo

In the end, Aressa simply destroyed the Wraith scout ship from orbit.

"She did the right thing, Harry," said Aressa as they talked. The Ancient looked tired but in control as she piloted Atlantis. "The Wraith can not be negotiated with they don't view us as anything other than food or at best a threat to be dealt with."

"It just…rubs me the wrong way," admitted Harry.

"Which makes you good man. I think we need a meeting with the others because I have finished the diagnostic and I am ready to head for the rendezvous."

"You don't need a break first?" asked Harry.

Aressa smiled, "No, although by the time we get there I'll probably need to sleep for a week to recover."

oOoOo

Triton

Hermione awoke to someone knocking on her door, with what sounded like a hammer. Grumbling she rolled out of her bunk, pausing only to check that she was decent in her pyjama bottoms and an oversized t-shirt.

She opened the hatch to see the XO, Emma Boyd, and a single Marine.

"Sorry to wake you, Miss Granger," said Boyd without a touch of regret. "But Admiral Adama has asked for you in the conference room. We did try to page you."

Hermione hid a grimace, she had silenced the speaker in her room so she could sleep without interruption on her eight hours off. "Sorry, I must have slept through it."

"Well as soon as you can Miss Granger," replied Boyd.

"I'll be there in five minutes," replied Hermione.

Boyd didn't look convinced, "We'll wait."

Hermione ignored the XO and closed her door. A few quick spells and a change of clothes later she was being escorted to the conference room. The presence of two guards outside made her frown, but she didn't have time to comment before she was escorted in.

"Ah Miss Granger, please take a seat and we will get started," said Admiral Adama as he gestured to an empty chair.

"Sorry I'm late Admiral, but I wasn't aware that there was a meeting," said Hermione as she took a seat.

Adama smiled and gestured at the others at the table. "None of us were."

As Hermione took her seat Holy Mother Rand gave her a friendly smile. Colonel Sparta offered a polite nod but the final person, Commander Brack was engrossed in reading something on a pad. She returned her attention to Adama as he cleared his throat.

"This morning a single Heavy Raider jumped in and sent a direct wireless message to the Galactica. Apparently, there has been a split between the majority of the Cylon collective and the One's," explained Adama.

"Gods," whispered Brack, "It worked."

"Is there any way to confirm this?" asked Sparta.

"There is a Cylon delegation on the way to talk to us in a few hours. We should learn more then," replied Adama.

"Well damn," said Sparta. "Sorry Sir…but what else did they say?"

Adama waved away the apology, "They say they are after confirmation that the intelligence they received is correct. Apparently, the First Hybrid sent them our way after he fled with what was left of their fleet. The collective apparently decided that they needed to find us, and he left them co-ordinates to our general whereabouts. Thoughts?"

Sparta looked pensive as he leant forward, "This could be good…by the Gods, it could be what we were playing for, but I think we need confirmation."

"President Roslin and her people are preparing as well," added Adama. "She raised the same point, Colonel."

Lacy Rand sighed, "And if they are legitimate, what then?"

Adama sat back in his chair, "I have no idea. I mean do we repatriate their prisoners and go our separate ways? What will they ask for to end the hostilities?"

"Before their beliefs were twisted they truly were seeking some sort of reconciliation. As has been explained before the majority really believe that they are humanities children," explained Rand. "I think they may want to stay and help the fleet. If only to ease their guilt."

"Gods what a fraking mess," muttered Brack.

"What do you think we should do?" Adama asked Rand.

Holy Mother Lacy Rand, Monotheist, and Humanoid Cylon smiled, "Well Admiral I think we should find a way to end this cursed war before both sides wipe each other out, don't you."

"Oh I do, but some may argue that even if the peace offer is genuine, we are better to leave your people behind," replied Adama but there was no malice in his voice. To the others, he simply sounded tired.

"Then they are fools, and their fear will do One's work for him. What we should do is invite them aboard and then put One on trial. Let them see and hear what he did, what he made them do. Then we can talk about peace and survival," said Rand. "And don't forget Admiral, One still has a fleet of Basestars, and if I understand things correctly the Collective is currently almost crippled."

"Could they be playing for time?" asked Brack.

"I think that they want peace. Their own religion, their parents, hell their Grandmother is here, telling them that they were manipulated and used by One," said Hermione. "We need to start somewhere, someone has to extend the hand of friendship."

"We'll have riots," warned Brack.

"Maybe, maybe not," replied Sparta. "The Presidents announcements about One and his role in the war have had more of an effect than we thought. A trial and an envoy from the Cylons…well it won't heal the wounds, but it does make the Cylons seem like less of a threat."

Adama sighed, "You have all made good points, but the decision will come down to the President. Which reminds me, Miss Granger the president asked if you were available to help with security."

oOoOo

Cylon Basestar 327

"Adama has sent word that they will allow envoys to approach the fleet," announced Three. "A Raptor jumped in and delivered the invite by wireless."

The gathering of the 'loyal' models shared a look. Each line save the One's and Five's were present.

"That's good so what now?" asked a Four.

"We go, and we try and find the proof we need. If…if it is true then we need consensus on how to proceed," said the representative of the Twos.

Six frowned as she removed her hand from the data stream, "We only have six working Basestars, and we need them defending the hub. If we go, it will just be us."

"Then that is what we need to do. We need to know the truth, and the First Hybrid made it clear that the Colonials hold part of it," Three took a moment to calm herself before continuing. "The Collective is already broken, the One's are apparently traitors, the Five's are suspect. The Hybrids are killing themselves rather than cooperating and our decision to lobotomize the Centurions is now coming back to haunt us. We are now in an unenviable position. I believe that we have no choice but to end the war and focus on dealing with One."

Two nodded, "Agreed, while One is at large he is a danger to us all. The Five's may be salvageable, but the One's have to go."

"We risk a great deal approaching the Colonials, but I don't think we have a choice. We've been hurt but let's not forget that, regardless of the reasons; we played a part in the downfall of the Colonies. They won't forget," added Eight.

"Nor should they," acknowledged Three.

"So let us vote, do we approach the Colonials with an offer of peace?" asked Two.

Each model consented.

"Then we need to get moving and prepare ourselves," said Three.

"By your command," acknowledged the others.

oOoOo

Galactica

Admiral Adama did a final check of the preparations before returning his attention to the Heavy Raider being lowered to the deck by the lift.

Arrayed beside him were the President, Colonel Sparta, Rand, and Elosha. Behind them looking like aides were Hermione Granger and Seven.

To the side, a film crew stood silently recording the proceedings.

Adama had been in CIC with Saul Tigh waiting for the Cylons to appear when right on time a Basestar jumped in. The CAP held a wary distance, and the fleet was poised to jump as they all waited.

Then the Cylon's confirmed that they wanted to talk. Adama found himself sharing a look with Tigh before he straightened his dress uniform.

"Keep an eye on them but nothing threatening unless they change to an attacking posture," he ordered as he turned to leave.

"I'll keep an eye on them, Bill," said Tigh before saluting, "Good luck Sir.:"

Adama's attention focused on the here and now as the Heavy Raider settled to the deck.

oOoOo

Hermione nervously watched as Admiral Adama and President Roslin stepped forward to greet the Cylon delegation. The five Humanoid Cylons looked around. Their eyes had lingered on Seven and Rand before they returned the attention to Roslin and Adama.

A Three step forward, "Admiral, Madam President, thank you for allowing us to come."

Roslin nodded, "I think we have a fair bit to discuss."

"Yes, I think we do," agreed the Three.

"Then we have prepared a conference room," explained Roslin. "Perhaps we can reconvene there?"

The Cylon's agreed, and Adama led the way to the pilot's briefing room.

The Pilots briefing room was looking rather empty as the Cylons took a seat opposite the Colonial representatives. There were two Marines standing vigilant against the far wall and the cameraman and soundman stood against the opposite wall but otherwise it was just the two groups.

Three cleared her throat as she looked across the room at Daniel, "If you would allow it Madam President," Roslin nodded, and the three leaned forward but seemed at a loss for how to proceed.

Daniel could understand the hesitancy. His people might well be worried by his presence and just what the Colonials knew, "I'm fine Three and yes they know that I'm a Cylon. I work here as a medic."

Three looked relieved, "It is good to see you alive and unharmed…we didn't know what happened Seven."

"I go by Daniel now, and I know you didn't, I've been running from One for years," explained Daniel.

The Two smiled sadly, "It is good to see you brother."

Daniel felt a wave of emotion as, for the first time in years, he let himself have some hope.

"Perhaps we might get started. I'm sure that when we have a break, you will be able to…ah, reconnect with Daniel," said Roslin.

Three blinked and then nodded, "Of course."

Roslin leaned forward, "Perhaps we should begin with introductions.," she gestured to Sparta. "Colonel Sparta has been responsible for the Cylons that surrendered themselves to us. They have been detained, but otherwise, they are unharmed in accordance with our laws regarding prisoners of war. Priestess Elosha is one of my Religious advisers. She has been looking into the historical and religious implications of some recent information we received and lastly someone you might recognise, Holy Mother Rand of the Monad Church."

The Two sitting opposite suddenly leaned forward, "How could that be possible?"

"I'm a Cylon," explained Rand. "Not part of your Collective but a Cylon nevertheless. My best friend Zoe was the daughter of Daniel Greystone, the creator of modern Cylons and the first humanoid Cylon. Adapting the technology for our own use was remarkably simple."

The Cylons looked stunned, the first to seemingly recover was Two, "That means you are the original Holy Mother Rand."

Rand nodded as the Two stood and walked over to her. The Cylon seemingly ignored the hands tightening on weapons (he couldn't see Hermione suddenly gripping her wand). When he reached Rand, he dropped to his knees, "Holy Mother."

Rand laid a hand on his head, "God's blessing be on you, my child."

The Two flinched, but Rand didn't remove her hand, "The truth will be spoken here today, listen and learn so that we may end this conflict."

"I will Holy Mother," two assured her.

Without speaking the other four Cylons stood and walked over to Rand and knelt. Rand repeated her blessing on each and, raising her voice she seemed to include all those in the room. "We are entering a new phase of our relationships here. Mistakes from the past must not rule us now. Let us find a way forward and save both our peoples."

Hermione found herself nodding, and she wasn't the only one.

"Wise words," said President Roslin as the Cylons retook their seats.

Three cleared her throat as she sat, "I don't know what to say…we were not prepared to find the Holy Mother here or Seven here. Even the First Hybrid's word…well, I was going to ask about your prisoners."

"Detainees," Sparta corrected. "Although, technically they are prisoners of war. They have not been charged with any crimes. As to their well-being, you are welcome to visit them although several, like Daniel, serve elsewhere in the fleet."

"Thank you, we will take you up on that Colonel," replied Two.

"Before that occurs we need to discuss One," said Roslin. "We are holding a One in our brig on Triton, and we intend to put him on trial regarding his role in the war."

"We would like to question him first. There are things we need to know," replied Three.

"We have no objection to that," replied Roslin.

"May I ask what you want from this, you are being rather more accommodating than we expected," said Two with a look of genuine confusion on his face.

Roslin shrugged, "I saw just how close we came to fulfilling one being's mad plan. I refuse to dance to his tune. Do I still hate what your people did? I'd be lying if I said I didn't. But I view most of you as victims of One."

Hermione relaxed slightly as the Cylon's exchanged looks.

"Perhaps," began Eight "We can find some common ground after all."

oOoOo

It had taken hours, but the Cylon Collective agreed to an immediate cease-fire. They would be entering negotiations to sign a full peace agreement after they had confirmed the state of their people. They had also agreed to allow One to be tried for his crimes by the Colonials. He had sinned against everyone but to the now repentant collective his entire model had earned whatever punishment was meted out. They also agreed to assist the Colonials in dealing with One's remaining fleet, if so requested.

In return, they requested access to Holy Mother Rand and an agreement to be allowed to have a voice at One's trial.

All in all, it had been very successful and more importantly all the key moments had been captured by the press film crew.

oOoOo

Fleet News Service Broadcast - Live

"Welcome back I'm Playa Palacios, live from outside the briefing room on Galactica. Earlier today President Roslin announced that a cease-fire agreement had been reached with the Cylons. The revelations that the Humanoid Cylon known as Model One had manipulated the Cylon Collective into the war have been circulated by the President. The reality is that a civil war has started among the Cylons with the majority turning against the One's once word of their heinous misdeeds reached them."

"Playa, it's James, what about the recent talk that Roslin is placating the Cylons?"

"James, earlier today in discussions with the Cylon delegates the President said, and I quote. 'I saw just how close we came to fulfilling one being's mad plan. I refuse to dance to his tune. Do I still hate what your people did? I'd be lying if I said I didn't. But I view most of you as victims of One as much as we are'. I think we can safely say that she is simply facing the reality of the changing situation James."

"Any word on why a cease-fire rather than a peace agreement?"

"I'd suspect that once the Cylon detainees we hold are repatriated, we will see the talks moving forward James," explained Playa. "After the first round of talks, a delegation of Humanoid Cylons were headed to Triton."

"And what of the reports of an upcoming trial?" asked McManus.

"Unofficially they haven't been confirmed, but my sources tell me that the Cylon One will be put on trial in the next few days. The other Cylons all but insisted on it. Things have wrapped up for today and shortly we will be seeing the Cylons heading over to Triton. There they will be checking on the Cylons we have been holding."

oOoOo

Hermione wasn't quite sure why she was still being dragged along. It was fairly obvious that the Cylons were not going to try anything. They apparently wanted to work with the Colonials.

"Miss Granger wasn't it?" asked the Six.

"That's right," confirmed Hermione. "But please, call me Hermione."

"I believe that you work with Seven."

"True although I'd call him a friend rather than a workmate."

"And you are a civilian nurse; I've been trying to figure out your accent."

Hermione hesitated, remembering Daniel's warning about the Cylons. She didn't want to lie, but his warning made her cautious even though she knew the cat was more than likely out of the bag. Luckily they reached the Cylon detention area before Hermione was forced to respond.

"This is the area we've set aside for our guests. While we have secured the area for both parties safety we are mostly keeping things as normal as possible given the circumstances," explained Sparta.

"Circumstances?" asked Two.

Sparta grinned, "I think I'll let your brothers and sisters explain," his expression grew more serious for a moment. "Both the good and the bad."

Sparta pushed the door open and led the Cylons into the large open common area. The scene they encountered stopped the Cylons in their tracks.

Athena and Helo were sitting on one of the lounges talking to Tamara Adama and a Two. Nearby a Four, in a medic's uniform with a young girl in his lap was talking to a woman.

In the small mess area, another Two was talking to 2 Sixes and a Three as the shared a table covered in papers and several books.

It was the Eight now calling herself Athena Agathon that looked over to the door and drew the attention of the others.

The Three that led the Cylons from the hub was confused. She had been told that her brothers and sisters were being detained for their own protection, but she hadn't expected it to be like this. Where were the guards, the cameras?

"Holy Mother," greeted the Two with Athena. "We were just discussing holding a service here and inviting any interested crewmen. I know Karl and Giana O'Neill are interested, and Tamara suggested that we bring the idea to you."

Rand smiled, "An intriguing idea, Colonel Sparta I can't see any difficulty can you?"

To the surprise of the visiting Cylons Sparta shrugged, "I shouldn't think so. Let me know if you need anything."

Sensing the confusion of the newcomers Rand stepped in, "Leoben, perhaps we can discuss it afterwards. I believe there are some formalities first."

The Three shook mentally shook herself and stepped forward, "Brothers and Sisters there have been some changes in the Collective, and so we have approached the Colonial leadership for a ceasefire and they have in turn offered a prisoner exchange. As part of this agreement we wanted to confirm you are well and safe here for the time being."

Simon O'Neill squeezed his wife's hand at her worried look, "I think Three that there are some matters to discuss first."

oOoOo

Three was surprised that her hand wasn't shaking as she sipped the too hot tea. As she looked around her fellows, she could see that all save Eight were equally shocked. The Eight looked absolutely torn between shock and a desire to run back to her miraculous, pregnant sister.

"I must say I never expected this," said Two.

"I expected them to be shackled to the wall," said Three. None of them needed to mention the fate of the Six held on Pegasus. They had visited their stricken sister and had been both enraged at her brutal treatment and thankful for the concern and care she had received. To be honest, she suspected that even a new body might not erase the trauma. Perhaps the Colonials could save her from being boxed which might well have faced a Cylon given her people's lack of mental and emotional health care experience.

"The First Hybrid was right it seems, and I am ashamed to think of the farms we ran with the prisoners. The stark difference in treatment…well I can understand any disgust the Colonials feel toward us," said Four.

Three grimaced, in light of the evidence they had seen it was now very clear that One had blithely led them down a path where their sins might well have damned them as a species. The video evidence combined with the First Hybrids message and the situation in the fleet made it clear that the war was a colossal lie. It had been incredibly hard to not strangle the arrogant One sitting in the cell.

And the shocks hadn't ended there. The Eight known as Athena was pregnant. An event which would cause widespread rejoicing among the Collective given that it was long thought impossible. The fact that Cylons could only reproduce with humans was a bitter irony not lost on Three.

"This will not be easy, too much has happened for the Colonials to simply accept us. The trial of One will help, but we must find ways to help, to become more than an old enemy," said Six.

"They have the Chloeian Prophecies, and I suspect that the travellers mentioned are here in the fleet. They will be the guides to Earth mentioned in our own religious documents," explained Two. "We have an opportunity here to save what One imperilled with his lack of faith and anger."

"What of the others reports about the two priests and their so called powers?" asked Four.

"The others have seen them used, so we can drop the so called," replied Three. 'Two what do you think?"

Two considered what his brother Two had told him and frowned, "I'm not sure, but I think Hermione may be one of the travellers. They mentioned that the other, Harry had similar powers. For all, we know they might be another evolution of humanity or even Cylons."

"It would be more of a concern if she were against us but she looks to be at worst neutral.," added Six.

"And she has befriended and helped Seven and several other models. As well as being close to Holy Mother Rand," corrected Eight.

"We will have to wait and see then. Otherwise, are we agreed that we need to move forward?"

None of the Models disagreed.

A knock on the door sounded, and Four answered it cautiously, revealing a young Officer, "Yes?"

"Admiral Adama has asked if you would come to the conference room. Several Heavy Raiders have jumped and are approaching the fleet under a flag of truce. He thought it might save confusion if some of your people joined us while we explain."

oOoOO

"It seems that the First Hybrid did a pretty good job of spreading the word," muttered Tigh as he looked over the DRADIS screen.

"That's the third group he sent our way," said Adama. "Let's hope that's it for now. Anymore Raiders in the air and we'll have some nervous pilots."

Tigh shook his head, "How in the name of the Gods did things did things get this fraking complicated?"

Adama chuckled, "Better than us shooting at each other."

Tigh shrugged, "There is that I suppose. I just hope it stays this way."

Adama silently agreed, they had upped the level of security and awareness as the changes happening rippled through the fleet. He was all too aware that not everyone would be happy.

oOoOo

Astral Queen

The leadership of the former prisoners aboard the Astral Queen was neither glamorous nor rewarding to a man like Tom Zarek. When Apollo had released him, committing that bitch Roslin to elections he had devised a plan to build a following and a power base in which to seize power. Unfortunately, she had done so far more quickly than he had expected. Oh, he had managed to be elected as one of the two spokesmen for Sagittaron given his notoriety among those from his home planet but after that, things had fallen apart.

He needed for there to be problems in the fleet. Shortages, fear, anxiety, hunger, and sickness would have escalated discontent…leaving the door open for a practical man to exploit.

The trouble was it hadn't happened.

The damn un-natural priests or witches or whatever they were had made sure of that. Even the poor in dog town were now living in proper accommodation. His labour force simply wasn't important enough to warrant much more than a nod from his betters.

He had needed a new plan, something to rock faith in Roslin. Then, finally, he had some luck. A fellow Sagittarian named Caleb approached him and sounded him out regarding their growing fear concerning the 'cursed machines' in the fleet. Caleb wanted him to lead their group in doing whatever it took to force the Cylons to leave. When questioned about what they had planned he had revealed that one of their members was working on Triton and had found that one of the Cylons was in their sick bay. His 'martyr' was going to kill the cursed thing before killing as many pro-Cylon 'scum' as he could. Apparently desperate to show how 'committed' they were Caleb revealed that his man was going to strike tomorrow.

Zarek didn't comment of the insanity of the plan, nor how such an attack would likely backfire. What he saw was an opportunity. He just needed to make sure that there was no blood on his own hands.

oOoOo

Triton Life Stations

Hermione was glad to back to work, at least for the rest of the day.

Life Stations was always fairly busy. People being people they got hurt, sick…pregnant and everything else that ailed humans.

Doctor Jackson left her with one of his nurses while he ran his afternoon outpatient clinic.

"So Jo, what is first on the list?' asked Hermione.

The new nurse, a civilian named Jo Pakitos smiled, "It's a pleasure to see you work Priestess."

Hermione resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The newest name she had seemingly inherited was "priestess". Although, in fairness she had to admit it was better than being thought a Demi-God or some such outlandish rubbish.

"We have Crewman Lavek with a badly infected burn, hmmm a chemical burn it looks like. Doctor Jackson wanted to see if you could do anything before he had to look at surgical options. Then we have a Miss Hippolya…oh the poor girl she has a broken jaw, a fall down stairs. And lastly Miss Six." Jo frowned as she finished speaking, "I hate seeing her suffer so, I mean I don't have a lot of love for Cylons…but the poor woman. I worked Accident and Emergency, and she's not the first rape victim I've treated. Thank Apollo they found Melita, she is an excellent counsellor."

"Okay, Crewman Lavek first," said Hermione with a smile.

A few healing spells and the crewman's back was already looking better. The burns looked bad, and they probably hurt terribly, but he would avoid bad scars now that she had healed the worst of it. She let Jo carefully apply a burn salve and a non-stick dressing.

"You are a lucky young man, Priestess Hermione has done a marvellous job on your back," said Jo brightly as she finished.

Lavek smiled and nodded, "Thank you, Priestess."

Hippolya was in quite a lot of pain and looked rather nervous as Hermione began working on her. She really needed a skele-grow potion for this sort of thing, but she would have to do her best. By the time she had finished the teenager was no longer in pain and was feeling her jaw in surprise.

"It's really true…thank you, thank you…" she trailed off as Hermione smiled and laughed. "It's not fully healed, I've just sped things up a bit. So no contact sports…um, Pyramid or running down stairs. Hopefully, you won't have to have it wired now."

As Hermione and Jo walked toward the curtained off bed in the private room near Dr. Jackson's office, they passed the single Marine guard who gave them a polite nod.

"Gina it's Hermione," warned Hermione politely before pulling the curtain back. As she did, she saw the Marine guard burst into action. Jo turned toward the movement as well as a man dressed in civilian clothes raised a gun.

He got a pair of shots off, hitting the Marine and staggering him as the larger man ploughed into him driving him to the floor. The two men wrestled for control of the gun before Hermione stunned him.

The man went slack in the Marine's grip as the soldier pulled the gun from his nerveless fingers and ejected the magazine from it before tucking it into the back of his pants.

"Are you hit?" asked Hermione seeing blood on his shirt.

The Marine nodded, "clipped my shoulder Ma'am. I'm right for now until this bastard is secure."

Hermione nodded in relief and stood.

"H-Hermione help."

Hermione swung around to see Gina kneeling on the floor holding Jo who's uniform was rapidly turning bright red.

Hermione froze for a moment before hurrying over to kneel by Jo, "Where…oh God."

There was a bullet hole in just below her right breast.

"Get the Doc in here now," yelled the Marine as two more Marine's ran in with drawn weapons.

oOoOo

Commander Brack was absolutely furious as he stalked through the corridors of the Triton. Even seasoned Marines were stepping backwards as the former CAG made his way to Life Stations. He was almost there when he meet his XO coming the other way.

"Emma, what the frak is going on?" demanded Brack.

"Some civilian walked into Life Stations and shot a civilian nurse. She's heading in to surgery now."

"Was she the target?" demanded Brack.

Emma, who was hurrying to keep up shook her head, "We don't know sir, Granger, the Six and the nurse were all together. It could have been any of them or just random."

Brack was so angry that when he stopped and turned on Emma, she nearly took a step back, "That's twice we've had attacks on people in Life Stations. I want to know what happened, who the target was and why an armed guard didn't stop this from occurring. Then I want it fixed the frak up!"

"Yes Sir," replied Emma with a salute.

Brack strode off again, and Emma followed after him, already planning out what needed to happen now. They needed to find these malcontents and who was controlling them, fast.

One thing they both knew was that nobody involved with this, up or down that chain was going to be happy.

oOoOo

Aboard the Astral Queen

The airlock cycled open as the body was spaced.

Zavek cycled it closed and then left, pausing only to reactivate the security system. He made sure that the wire was loose enough that any investigation would show that the power was faulty rather than tampered with.

It paid to make sure you took care of the details.

No one would miss Caleb, and now nothing would link him with the amateurs failed plan. As he walked back to his cabin (which was actually smaller than his former cell), he considered how he would contact Caleb's people.

After all, why waste their zeal?

oOoOo

Galactica – CIC

"DRADIS contact…Gods, it's huge," reported Gaeta.

"Belay that chatter, what are we looking at?" demanded Tigh.

"A massive contact Sir. It's nearly off the charts Commander," replied Gaeta.

"What have we got Saul?" asked Adama as he walked into the CIC.

"DRADIS contact at the rendezvous coordinates," Saul looked his old friend in the eyes. "It could be them."

"Fleet Status?" asked Adama

"Triton has dropped back to overwatch on the civilian fleet. The others are forming up on us," reported Gaeta.

Adama nodded, that was exactly as he expected given that he had come up with the plan being enacted. "And the Cylon element?"

"They are holding their positions, we are getting a request for instructions from them now," reported Dualla.

"Tell them to hold for now, what about the newcomer, could it be Cylon?" asked Adama.

"Not unless they have totally new technologies," replied Gaeta.

"Sir we have a wireless broadcast from the unknown," announced Dualla at communications.

"Put it on speakers," ordered Adama.

"Galactica this is Apollo on Atlantis."


End file.
